A Sunday afternoon line-up to snag a seat in a downtown restaurant would have been commonplace a few months ago, but now it’s a sign that downtown Victoria is slowly coming back to life.
Families were out strolling around the Inner Harbour, cyclists were riding along the waterfront and a couple of people even took to Ship Point marina to breakdance on Sunday, but streets were still relatively quiet.
On the first weekend since restaurants, salons and barbershops were allowed to reopen, once familiar sights mixed with visions of masked staff, blocked-off tables and hand sanitizing stations at the entrance of newly opened businesses.
Those returning to their favourite downtown businesses said they felt safe to do so with precautions in place.
“As long as we’re practising distancing and wearing masks and washing our hands all the time, it’s not an issue, because we’ve all been grocery shopping the whole time,” said Marla Hedman, who recently moved to Victoria for a few months from Vancouver and spent Sunday shopping downtown.
Alisa and Trevor Gains were excited to dine out again and support downtown businesses. The couple felt comfortable enjoying a meal on the patio at The Local on Wharf Street, where diners were spaced out and many tables were covered by large planters instead of dinner plates to ensure physical distancing measures were met.
“We’ve been to two different restaurants and they come and verbally ask you if you’re sick or not, they make you read the sign on the wall and if you have symptoms, you don’t come in the restaurants,” Trevor Gains said.
The Local is using single-use menus to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19.
Alisa Gains said it was exciting to bump into friends during their time downtown. “It’s so nice to just see people we haven’t seen for so long.”
On Government Street, a trickle of people strolled by recently reopened shops and restaurants. It was an unusual sight for Rene Gauthier, who owns Ecologyst clothing store on the street.
Normally, the sidewalk would be packed with pedestrians at this time of year, Gauthier said.
He reopened last week and said people are slow to return. On Sunday, one or two customers visited the store per hour.
“If we’d had days like this before the COVID, I’d be really freaking out,” he said.
There’s hand sanitizer at the front of the store and arrows on the ground tell customers how to move around safely. Any item tried on is steamed and left for a few days before returning to the rack.
“It’s way more work and way less people. This is totally unsustainable,” he said.
Gauthier said some people seem hesitant to come inside, while others are excited to shop again.
He wore a mask when he first reopened, but he was concerned that it appeared unsettling for shoppers.
“I was getting the vibe that people were worried that I was worried about catching something from them,” he said.
B.C.’s provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry recently joined Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, in recommending the use of masks in indoor spaces where it’s not possible to maintain physical distancing, such as public transit.
“It is a way for us to keep our droplets in, to be respectful of others… I do think it’s going to be a part of our future for a while,” Henry said at a recent COVID-19 briefing.
