BC to share details on Step 3 of COVID-19 restart plan on Tuesday

The provincial government is scheduled to give a live update on Tuesday afternoon, during which they will share details on Step 3 of British Columbia’s COVID-19 restart plan.

A press conference will be held at 1:45 pm 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, will also attend.

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  • Henry says “things are looking really good” as BC prepares to enter Step 3

On Monday, Henry said that “things are looking really good” as BC prepares to enter into the next step of its COVID-19 restart plan.

There continues to be a decrease in COVID-19 case numbers and transmission. Many communities in the province saw few to no cases over the past week.

To enter Step 3, 70% of BC’s adult population must be partially vaccinated, cases need to be low, and hospitalizations need to decline.

As of June 29, 74.9% of all adults 18 and over in BC and 72.8% of those 12 and older have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. In total, 3,823,103 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in BC, 443,562 of which are second doses.

Additionally, BC health officials announced on Monday there had been 145 new test-positive COVID-19 cases since Friday, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the province to 147,549.

What could open if BC enters Step 3

Based on BC’s COVID-19 restart plan, the province is expected to lift the Provincial State of Emergency and Public Health Emergency.

Indoor and outdoor social gatherings can “return to normal,” such as attending family reunions or having sleepovers. The capacity for indoor and outdoor organized gatherings can also increase, although safety plans will still be required.

Additionally, nightclubs and casinos will reopen with limited capacity and safety plans, and recreational travel across Canada will be permitted, with British Columbians being able to host friends and family from out-of-province.