Health officials are calling on British Columbians to balance the easing of some outdoor restrictions by keeping up safety measures when indoors.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say an amended order allowing 10 people who know each other to gather outside does not apply to indoor locations.
They say in a release that all safety plans should continue being followed in workplaces, schools and grocery stores, for example.
B.C. has recorded 648 new cases of COVID-19, including 79 that are variants of concern, the vast majority involving the one first identified in the United Kingdom, for a total of 717 of those cases.
In a rare event, no deaths were reported on Friday in B.C., leaving the death toll at 1,397 people since the pandemic began.
Thirty-two new cases were reported in the Island Health region, where 11 people are in hospital, including one in intensive care.
Two facilities are currently experiencing outbreaks, including a retirement facility in White Rock and Ridge Meadows Hospital in Maple Ridge.
The Greater Victoria School District announced its second COVID-19 exposure in as many days, this time at Lansdowne Middle School.
The potential exposure was on March 3, 4, 5 or 9, and Island Health is working on contact tracing in the school community.
The other recent exposure at a district school was at Victoria West Elementary, with the possible exposure dates March 2, 3 or 4.
An exposure refers to a lab-confirmed case or cases of COVID-19 being in a particular location during the infectious period.
