BC discourages travel between all health regions, and out of province

Nov 17 2020, 3:23 am

BC’s top doctor doubled down on her recommendation to abandon leisure travel plans for the moment while the province experiences a staggering surge in COVID-19 infections.

When Dr. Bonnie Henry issued new public health orders for Vancouver Coastal and Fraser health regions on November 7, she said non-essential travel should wait, and asked residents not to travel out of or into Metro Vancouver unless absolutely necessary.

On Monday, Henry expanded that advice to say people should not be travelling recreationally between any of the five health authorities or to other provinces.

“Whether from the Lower Mainland to Island, from the Interior to the North, or whether it’s to and from other provinces in Canada, we need to stay local and take those measures,” she said, referring to orders not to gather indoors or outdoors until November 23.

Some popular BC tourist destinations, including Tofino and Ucluelet on Vancouver Island’s west coast, have asked visitors from the Lower Mainland to stay home for now.

Henry wants people to think back to how they behaved early in the pandemic this spring, saying a similar resolve is needed now.

“When we travel we bring that risk with us, and we bring home the risk of where we’ve been,” she said.

Megan DevlinMegan Devlin

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