B.C. might be moving to next stage but some COVID-19 restrictions will likely last into 2021

As Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry tells the province it’s in a good place when it comes to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, she’s warning that precautions are likely to continue into next year.

She showed the media today, June 23, charts showing how B.C. has flattened the curve better than other provinces and many countries when it comes to holding down the number of new cases and hospitalizations. But, the pandemic is far from over.

“It’s a challenging place to be because we would like everything to be OK and we’re doing all right,” Dr. Henry said. “But we need to find that balance and continue with that balance and work together in the coming months and we will get through this. This is not going to be forever but it is going to be for now and it is going to be, likely, into next year.”

READ MORE: Contract tracing essential in B.C. as COVID-19 lockdown eases

While the focus is on increasing opportunities for people to travel and go shopping, the disease is still out there and the same precautions about safe distancing, hand washing and cleanliness must be kept in place.

“We’re at a point where we want things to go back to normal,” Dr. Henry said. “We don’t want to deal with this anymore."

She mentioned earlier that this was her 100th in-person press briefing since the COVID-19 outbreak in January and quipped “I’m getting tired.” But, she realizes everyone else is also getting tired of the restrictions.

“Philosophically, we have to be at that point where we’re willing to continue to have our community sacrifice,” Dr. Henry said. “We need to be able to open up and to deal with some of the unintended negative consequences of the actions we had to take to make sure that we don’t get overwhelmed in our health care system and many more people don’t get infected and don’t die.”

To contact a reporter for this story, email Rob Munro or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submitphotos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.