B.C.’s top doctor not ruling out family visits over holidays but warns be very, very careful

It might be OK for grandparents to spend some time with grandchildren over the holiday season in B.C, but on very limited basis.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry was presented with a number of scenarios she might approve in terms of family visits over the Christmas holidays during a news conference today, Dec. 10.

“I’ve been inundated with hundreds of ‘what about my specific situation' questions,” Dr. Henry said. “What I tell people is look at the intent of this. The intent of this is to reduce those transmissions we can have when we get together, when we have social interactions.

The bottom line is stick as much as possible with your household, she said, if your household regularly has visits from your grandparents as part of caring for children, then you can make the decision about the risk of infection to you and your grandparents.

"What we don’t want is large numbers of people coming to your home," Dr. Henry said. "So if it’s you and your sisters and your brothers and their families and their kids, that should not be happening this year. That is when it’s risky.”

It may mean a grandparent spending Christmas with one of their children and their family, but not multiple children either together or separately, she said.

As for visits from Santa, she said he’s immune to the disease and is first in line for the vaccine but when he visits he will wear a mask and wash his hands a lot.

And no milk and cookies should be left out for him this year, she advised.

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.