BC health officials to share details on Step 2 of COVID-19 restart plan on Monday

Health officials in British Columbia are scheduled to give a live update on Monday morning where they will share details on Step 2 of the COVID-19 restart plan.

A press conference will be held at 10:30 am with Premier John Horgan, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, and Health Minister Adrian Dix.

Ravi Kahlon, the Minister of Jobs, Economic, Recovery and Innovation, and Melanie Mark, the Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, and Sport, will also be in attendance.

On Thursday, Henry said that the province is “well-positioned” to enter into the next step of its COVID-19 restart plan.

Due to consistent safety measures and high immunization rates, virus transmission is trending down in BC for the first time in many months.

Officials have said Step 2 can begin once 65% of adults have their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and if cases and hospitalizations continue to decline.

As of June 11, 75.1% of all adults aged 18 and over and 73.1% of those aged 12 and older have received their first shot.

Although the provincial mask mandate, business safety protocols, and physical distancing measures will remain in place, larger indoor and outdoor gatherings will be permitted.

Notably, indoor organized gatherings can be expanded to a maximum of 50 people, which will allow banquet halls, movie theatres, and live theatres to reopen.

BC’s inter-provincial travel restrictions will be lifted as well. Indoor sports games and practices for all ages can resume, as can high-intensity fitness classes.

Up to 50 spectators will be permitted for outdoor sports once the province enters Step 2.

• See also:
  • BC health officials announce 180 new COVID-19 cases going into weekend
  • BC movie theatres selling tickets ahead of potential reopening next week
  • Here’s British Columbia’s four-step plan to restart the province

The province announced 180 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the province to 146,176.

There are currently 1,880 active cases in the province. A total of 162 people are hospitalized, 45 of whom are in intensive care.

One new virus-related death was announced on Friday. There have now been 1,730 deaths in British Columbia since the pandemic began.

Tomorrow’s press conference can be livestreamed on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.