Coronavirus restrictions in BC could start to ease up in mid-May: health officials

On Friday, health officials unveiled British Columbia’s latest COVID-19 data, showing the positive impacts of physical distancing and restrictive measures.

The data was presented with cautious optimism, but BC Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry stresses that the collective efforts of British Columbians cannot ease up.

“Our actual case rate and our actual ICU admission and hospital admission have been below what the potential was, based on other jurisdictions around the world,” she said. “We are experiencing a slowing of our rate of new infections — we want that to continue.”

Health officials hinted that should numbers continue to decrease, the province could start to see some of the stringent measures begin to ease up, particularly in early to mid-May.

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One of the first steps would be restarting scheduled surgeries, but only if the province doesn’t experience a surge in cases.

In early March, Health Minister Adrian Dix announced that thousands of elective surgeries were being cancelled by the province. The decision was made in order to free up hospital beds in the event that British Columbia experienced a coronavirus outbreak similar to that of Hubei or Northern Italy.

Henry says that if cases continue to decrease and that if there are no new outbreaks, then it’s time to consider how the province can “thoughtfully and carefully” lift some of the restrictions over time.

In addition to elective surgeries, other measures include ramping up the overall healthcare system, which means bringing back outpatient visits and increasing the number of diagnostic tests.

Henry also addressed the question when children could return school, stressing that it wouldn’t be all at once. For example, one idea is a gradual return with smaller numbers in classrooms or having kids come in at different times of the day. Measures such as physical distancing or maintaining proper hand hygiene, however, will remain in place for the foreseeable future.

“We’re looking for just the right amount of restriction so we don’t end up explosive growth, so we don’t end up overwhelming our healthcare system and our critical care system, and we are still able… to get our healthcare system moving again and get our society moving again.”Henry said.  “It’s not going to be the same — we’re not going back to what we had in December.”

While there’s no concrete timeline in place, Dix notes that this could be a matter of months or years.

“Our next big challenge is to continue to achieve these goals without undermining our social fabric, without undermining our economy,” he said. “To understand that this is not going to be just weeks, but months, and conceivably years.  We must find a healthy way forward for the next 12 to 18 months.”

Authorities say that it’s a matter of striking the right balance and finding “a healthy new normal.”

“A healthy new normal that can sustain us and keeps us safe,” Dix said. “And allows us to resume some of our activities in a safe way that allows us to socialize in a safe way more with our family and friends.”