COVID-19 restrictions may ease soon in Interior Health

For months the COVID socializing restrictions have been tougher in the Interior Health region than in most parts of B.C. because of high case counts.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry hinted today, Nov. 16, that some of those rules may be eased soon.

“I’ve been working with my teams across the province to come out with a more coherent approach,” Dr. Henry said during a news briefing in answer to a media question about the rules changing on Friday. “I expect there will still be additional restrictions in certain areas where immunization rates are low, where transmission is still high.”

She didn’t say whether changes will be made on Friday or at another time.

Unlike most other parts of the province, people in the Interior Health region can only have a maximum of five people or one household in their homes. Indoor and outdoor gatherings for things like sports are also limited.

Northern Health and the eastern part of the Fraser Health region have similar rules.

Most of the Interior Health region is below the provincial average when it comes to vaccination rates and some places, like the Enderby Local Health Area, are amongst the lowest in the province.

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Dr. Henry said provincial health authorities are looking at what’s happing in other parts of the world where restrictions have been eased and cases have surged again.

She’s also concerned that, with winter coming, people will spend more time indoors.

Arenas, where people have to be vaccinated, mostly stay in their seats and wear masks, are safer than indoor social gatherings where there may be closer interaction with others and masks are not worn, Dr. Henry said.

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She also extolled the virtues of wearing medical grade masks. While some people may find them uncomfortable, they do offer better protection than other types of masks, especially with the delta variant of COVID. That spreads more easily than earlier forms of COVID and makes younger people sicker.

All cases in B.C. are the delta variant and Dr. Henry reported a new sub-lineage, the AY.4.2 that has been seen in the United Kingdom, has now shown up in B.C., infecting three people in one family in the Fraser Health region.

It’s thought to spread more easily than other variants but it’s not known if it makes people sicker or is more resistant to vaccines.

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