Here’s when you can expect to hang out with your safe six again: Henry

Feb 5 2021, 7:46 pm

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry hinted on Friday morning that the current restrictions on gatherings and events could ease up towards the end of February — if transmission continues to decrease, that is.

Henry explained that while the curve is slowly and steadily being bent down, “we need to protect the progress we have made since the start of this year and not squander our success.”

“We all want to get to the days where these orders can be lifted,” Henry said. “As we look towards the end of this month, this data will tell us if more action is required or if we can start to ease the restrictions we have in place.”

Youth sports and faith services were two of the activities she mentioned along with the return of “safe six” bubbles.

“We are working and continue to work with VIA Sport and we can start to put plans in place to get youth sport up and running by the end of this month,” Henry explained. “We can start with faith services, to prepare to resume services with full plans in place to ensure everyone is safe.”

“And all of us can start to resume some of those important social interactions in a moderate way. By the end of the month, we can look to having our safe six, our bubble, again.”

BC’s current province-wide COVID-19 ban on gatherings and events was extended on Friday morning.

The orders, which include a ban on indoor and outdoor private gatherings, community events, travel, and variants of adult sports, first came into effect on November 19, 2020. This is the third time the ban has been extended since then.

Henry did not provide a specific date as to when the orders may potentially be revisited or even lifted, a move she said was intentional.

“We need time to understand if these positive things that we’re seeing are going to allow us to take away some of the restrictions we have in place now,” she said. “That’s why I’m leaving it open-ended, and not putting an end-date on the orders that are in place now.”

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