As British Columbia looks towards an easing of COVID-19 restrictions, the province is ruling out allowing some areas of the province to get back to normal before others.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the province has tried to handle restrictions regionally in the past, and has recognized that the approach doesn’t work when people across B.C. and Canada remain connected through travel.
“We’ve maintained an approach of doing it together here in the province, and I don’t see that changing. We’ve seen that this virus can cause dramatic effects in many communities across the province, and we’re not yet at the point where we have enough immunity across the province that we can do things differently,” Henry said.
“A consistent approach has worked for us and will continue to work for us.”
On Monday, the province announced that over the past three days there were 325 new COVID-19 cases in Vancouver Coastal Health, 1,201 new cases in Fraser Health, 50 cases in Island Health, 131 in Interior Health and 52 in Northern Health.
There are currently 4,027 active cases of COVID-19 in Fraser Health, compared to 210 active cases in Island Health.
Henry mentioned on Monday the province will be releasing details in the next few days around B.C.’s “post-pandemic” life.
Saskatchewan has already released a full re-opening plan, including a return to in-person dining and in-person religious gatherings with reduced crowds by the end of May.