visitors to private homes will be limited to one other family or five guests. outdoor personal gatherings are limited to 50 people while organized outdoor events of more than 200 people will need to have a covid-19 safety plan in place.
widespread transmission is not occurring in restaurants, gyms, fitness centres, in recreational sports or in places of worship, said health officials. these places are not affected by the new rules.
the new measures are in addition to the provincewide mask order for indoor public spaces, which was re-implemented last week, and the b.c. vaccination passport, which will be required at non-essential services and venues such as restaurants and fitness centres starting on sept. 13.
dix said the vast majority of patients in icu with covid-19 in northern health hospitals has not been vaccinated.
he called the region’s lagging vaccination rates a “significant issue.”
while more than 80 per cent of people over 55 in northern b.c. have been vaccinated, similar to the provincial average, vaccination rates for those 55 and younger are lower than the provincial average, said dix.
northern b.c. has some of the province’s lowest vaccination rates. according to data from the b.c. centre for disease control, 56 per cent of people age 12 and older in peace river south and 58 per cent in fort nelson have received a first dose of a covid-19 vaccine.