B.C. officials stressed on Tuesday that the major relaxation of public health orders coming Thursday is an orderly retreat. But you can’t help wondering if the assorted occupations and blockades didn’t factor into adjusting the balancing point they’ve tried to maintain for the past two years.
It’s hard to watch the federal government impose a full-scale state of emergency in response to perceived civil unrest over restrictions and not think that had something to do with backing off.
Nonetheless, Premier John Horgan denied any linkage.
The restrictions being lifted were designed to be temporary, he said, and were imposed due to the Omicron wave that hit B.C. and the rest of the world late last year. “This is not brought upon the public today by any protests, any horn honking, any encampments.
“It was brought about because this was the plan we had when we brought in the restrictions to protect people at a time of uncertainty.”
It was the plan since January to revisit the current restrictions before Family Day “and that’s exactly what we’ve done.”
He said it’s based on the “best available science to protect people to keep our economy moving and to ensure that all of us get out of this together.”
Horgan, who supported the federal emergency declaration, said the protest movement is a “narrow sliver” of the population and their actions are disappointing and disturbing.
The other aspect that triggers curiosity about the motivation is that Health Minister Adrian Dix announced a massive distribution program for COVID-19 rapid test kits. That’s been an increasingly sore point for numbers of people who felt the kits weren’t being used to the full potential.
So it makes for two major announcements that will — hopefully — ease tensions among the minority of people who have made it clear they aren’t willing to take it any more.
Dr. Bonnie Henry has repeatedly described her job as balancing the need to control the pandemic through health restrictions with the need to use the smallest possible amount of coercion to respect people’s right to live their lives.
Come Thursday, freedom — now a loaded word — is carrying more weight than it did previously. And the major shift is being made with Henry’s frank acknowledgment that the pandemic is nowhere near over. It will likely run for a period of years to come, and another surge in cases like the one that hit this winter is “inevitable,” she said.
“We know there will be continuing pressure from this virus to mutate into a new variant that may cause more serious illness.
“But we need to continue to monitor, as well, the balance of our population health that the restrictions that we have in place have caused.”
The new game plan does not contemplate reversing course and reimposing restrictions if the pandemic attacks again next fall. The defence will rely mostly on widespread longer-term immunity through B.C.’s sky-high vaccination rate.
“I don’t believe we’ll have to go back to broad societal measures unless something dramatically different happens,” said Henry.
So all regulations about indoor personal gatherings and indoor/outdoor organized gatherings lapse at 11:59 tonight. Restaurants, bars and nightclubs revert to normal, although masks and vaccine cards are still a requirement. Stadium and concerts go back to full capacity as do fitness centres.
All that’s left of the pandemic restrictions is the mask requirement for indoor public spaces, presentation of the B.C. vaccine card where needed and the safety plans for establishments.
It’s described as a shift to a sustainable, long-term strategy based on “self-management,” a la the annual program to curb influenza.
As described at a briefing, you will make your own call about whether to go out and mingle, based on your own comfort level, through the upcoming waves and troughs.
The public health focus will be less intense on the general population and more directed to seniors and other vulnerable groups.
B.C. has declared victories over some of the previous COVID-19 surges and reduced restrictions, only to have to reimpose and sometimes reverse course on previous policies in order to contain outbreaks.
Whether this is a victory is a long way from clear, but there’s more determination than previously to make this major strategic shift permanent.
