Communities across B.C. were anxious they might see the annual influx of tourists typically associated with Easter long weekend. In an effort to prevent an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the Vancouver Island surf town of Tofino turned to public messaging and a police checkpoint on the highway.
“Leading up to the long weekend, we sent out yet another message strongly urging second homeowners and visitors to please stay home and not come to the West Coast,” Tofino Mayor Josie Osborne told Mornings with Simi on CKNW.
“And then on Thursday and Friday afternoons we actually had some terrific support from our local RCMP detachments and the Parks Canada warden service and they set up a little checkpoint for people coming into town asking where they were coming from, where they were going and what they were doing.”
Approximately 100 vehicles were stopped at the checkpoint over two days, but Osborne explained that most visitors weren’t planning to stay in the community.
“My understanding is that, of the tourists that were coming out, quite a few of them were just literally out for a drive. They wanted something to do and they were cooped up at home and they thought they’d go for a drive and they thought they’d come to the end of the road.”
With the experience of navigating the Easter holiday weekend, the community is setting its sights on the approach for the long weekend in May.
“It went better than I expected quite frankly, and I think that maybe helps us understand that future weekends are hopefully not too much of a concern, that British Columbia really does seem to be getting the message and those last few people that didn’t seem to be reachable are now being reached.”
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