BC bringing back dining restrictions for Central Okanagan restaurants

Due to a recent surge in COVID-19 transmission in Interior Health, Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix, along with Chief Medical Officer of Interior Health Dr. Sue Pollock, announced that restrictions are coming back for the Central Okanagan region of BC.

Bars and nightclubs will be closed as of today, and new restrictions will be implemented for restaurants.

Personal gatherings, both indoor and outdoor, will also have to be scaled back.

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Restaurants will go back to having limitations on indoor and outdoor dining, meaning groups of up to six people only. These six people are not restricted to your own household.

Liquor service will go back to only being served until 10 pm.

Casinos in the area are operating under strict health protocols, so they will be permitted to remain open for now.

Events planned for this weekend will still go ahead, but Dr. Henry urged organizers to make sure safety plans are in place, and that unvaccinated people should not attend these events. This directive applies to weddings and other large-scale events.

The mask mandate that was reintroduced to the Interior last week will continue. Anyone attending a public indoor gathering must wear a mask.

It is not clear when these restrictions will be lifted for the Central Okanagan, but as COVID-19 numbers continue to rise rapidly, with vaccinations not scaling at an equal pace, they may be in place for the foreseeable future.