B.C. moves to Step 3 of COVID Restart Plan

Premier John Horgan has confirmed B.C. will start step 3 of its Restart Plan on Thursday (July 1).

Horgan told a news conference the province is able to move forward with confidence, due to the success of the vaccine program, and the low number of new Covid cases with just 29 today in all of B.C.

Horgan said British Columbians have stepped up at every stage throughout this pandemic

“We’ve helped our neighbours stay safe, we’ve sacrificed time with friends and family and we have diligently registered to get vaccinated. We’ve now reached a point in our vaccination efforts when we can begin to remove restrictions. Let’s continue to respect everyone’s comfort level as we safely take another step toward putting this pandemic behind us,” Horgan remarked.

Nearly 80 per cent of B.C. residents have had at least one COVID vaccine.

Moving to Step 3 will signal the end to the longest provincial state of emergency in B.C.’s history. The emergency will be lifted on June 30 at 11:59 p.m.

B.C.’s public health emergency will remain in effect during Step 3 to support amended public health orders from the provincial health officer (PHO), with reduced requirements.

Moving from Step 2 to Step 3 also includes:

* return to normal for indoor and outdoor personal gatherings;

* maximum capacity for indoor organized gatherings of 50 people or up to 50% of a venue’s total capacity, whichever is greater;

* maximum capacity for outdoor organized gatherings of 5,000 people or up to 50% of a venue’s total capacity, whichever is greater;

* return to normal for fairs, festivals and trade shows, with communicable disease plans;

* return to Canada-wide recreational travel;

* reopening of casinos, with reduced capacity and ~50% of gaming stations permitted to open;

* reopening of nightclubs, with up to 10 people seated at tables, no socializing between tables and no dancing;

* return to normal hours for liquor service at restaurants, bars and pubs with table limits to be determined by venue and no socializing between tables;

* return to normal for sports and exercise facilities, with communicable disease plans; and

* mask wearing recommended in indoor public spaces for all people 12 and older who are not yet fully vaccinated.

During Step 3, businesses will gradually transition to new communicable disease plans, with guidelines for these plans released by WorkSafeBC on June 28. These guidelines were developed in consultation with public health and businesses will continue to be supported by WorkSafeBC and the PHO as they transition.

These plans will continue to include physical barriers at many business and retail settings. Capacity limits, formal health screening tests and directional arrows, as well as other physical distancing measures will no longer be required. However, they may still be used during this transition period.

Canadians travelling to B.C. from outside of the province are asked to plan ahead and be respectful while visiting communities, especially smaller and rural towns, as well as Indigenous communities – including respecting local travel advisories. For travel manners and guidelines to follow during summer trips and vacations – see travel manners under the Learn More section.

To view the June 29, Step 3 presentation, click here.

Of the 29 new COVID cases on Tuesday, seven are in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, seven are in Fraser Health, three are in Island Health, 10 are in Interior Health and two are of people who reside outside of Canada. There are no new cases in the Northern Health region.

There are currently 876 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and a further 144,931 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 110 individuals are currently hospitalized, 34 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.

The province said 78.3% of all adults in B.C. and 77.0% of those 12 and older have now received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, 31.6% of all adults in B.C. and 29.5% of those 12 and older have received their second dose.

In total, 4,941,795 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 1,368,464 of which are second doses.