Masks will no longer be required for most indoor public spaces as of Friday, and the B.C. Vaccine Card won’t be needed to enter non-essential businesses and venues effective April 8, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Thursday, citing a significant reduction in COVID-19 hospitalizations and high rates of vaccination.
“I want to assure you that I feel confident about what we are doing and that we are in a place to do this now,” she said. “These decisions are grounded in science and in the data that we have about what’s happening in our communities.”
Also effective Friday, overnight child and youth camps can resume, and capacity limits on faith gatherings are gone.
Catholic Bishop Gary Gordon said parishes are delighted that capacity limits are ending well ahead of Easter Sunday, April 17. “We are also aware that many people continue to be cautious about COVID and so we will advise our parishes to be sensitive to people’s needs for health and safety moving forward,” he said.
Masks will no longer be required for K-12 schools and child care after students return from spring break, which varies among districts and public and independent schools.
“Those who continue to want to wear masks and are comfortable doing that will be supported to do that — both staff and students,” said Henry. “But it will no longer be a mandate in classrooms, in particular, and in other parts of the school.”
Measures to prevent crowding, such as staggered times for lunch and school pickups, will no longer be required, she said.
B.C. courthouses will continue to require masks in all areas Friday and "until further notice."
By March 18, visits to all long-term care homes will be restored. Henry asked for visitors’ patience as seniors homes adjust to the changes over the next week. Requirements for visitors to be fully vaccinated and to undergo rapid tests will remain. The B.C Care Providers Association said it wants new written rules for care homes as soon as possible, including the frequency of rapid testing required.
As of April 8, businesses will transition from COVID-19 safety plans to communicable disease plans, and a requirement for people in post-secondary residences to be vaccinated will be dropped. Workplaces can maintain mask and vaccination requirements if they choose, said Henry.
Current orders for all regulated health professionals to report their vaccination status by March 31 remain. The list includes acupuncturists, chiropractors, dentists, naturopaths, nurses, optometrists, pharmacists, physicians, surgeons, and psychologists.
Under the original order, health-care professionals would be prohibited from practising after March 24 if they weren’t vaccinated. Now, public-health officials and the Health Ministry will work with individual licensing colleges and registrants, said Henry.
Some health-care professionals will still be required to be vaccinated “in certain settings,” while others who disclose by the March 31 deadline that they are not vaccinated will be required to advise their patients and ensure informed consent is in place.
Henry said the spread of COVID-19 isn’t yet at the endemic stage, so vaccination, handwashing and remaining home when sick continue to be important.
As of Friday, masks will no longer be required on board ferries, although they continue to be recommended, B.C. Ferries said in a statement, adding: “B.C. Ferries asks customers to respect fellow passengers and crew. Everyone’s comfort level may be different during the easing of COVID restrictions.”
B.C. Transit said masks will no longer be mandatory on buses, although it will take time to remove signs about mandatory masking. Henry said she plans to continue wearing a mask on public transit and encourages others to do so. “We know it protects us, but it is also a sign of respect and protection for others.”
Ian Tostenson, president and CEO of the B.C. Restaurant and Food Association, said “if Dr. Bonnie Henry says it’s time, it’s time.”
“We follow the leader here and she’s done an extraordinary job of leading us,” he said.
Restaurants will leave it up to staff and customers to decide whether to wear a mask, he said. The elimination of the B.C. Vaccine Card on April 8 will no doubt increase business for restaurants, he said.
Craig Cavin, south Island director of operations for Country Grocer grocery stores, said its staff and customers can decide whether or not they will continue to wear masks. “We understand people will have different comfort levels for awhile,” he said in a text. Plexiglass at tills will remain “since it’s a close interaction area,” he said.
Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce CEO Bruce Williams applauded health authorities and businesses for keeping people safe through the pandemic and said he looks forward to seeing “unmasked smiling faces” at in-person events.
The lifting of the mandate will help many businesses “who abided by the spirit of the rules but faced challenges due to their workplace’s physical locations or staffing constraints,” he said.
While businesses celebrated the changes, B.C. Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau said the province should have kept basic protections in place for essential workers such as transit operators, people in high-transmission and low-ventilation areas, and the most vulnerable, including seniors, unvaccinated kids and the immuno-compromised.
“Removing masking entirely sends a signal that the pandemic is over,” said Furstenau. “Yesterday we had 14 deaths, a new variant is circulating around the world, and many epidemiologists and our provincial health officer have suggested we could see a fifth wave this year.”
Furstenau wants to see free N95 masks available, installation of more air filtration systems in schools, subsidizing of HEPA filters in other settings, and free and widely available rapid tests.
B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said rapid tests will be available free through pharmacies starting Friday to people age 50 and up.
Henry said additional pandemic measures may be required in the fall, when respiratory illnesses typically spike, including a new or targeted vaccine program or a fourth booster. Masks and vaccine cards could return in certain situations.
While masks will no longer be mandatory in most indoor public environments, there will be some health-care settings, including physicians’ offices, that will require them, said Henry.
She said some people may want to continue wearing masks in larger crowds and indoors, including those who have not yet had a booster or whose children or grandchildren have not been vaccinated.
