B.C. officials plead with park-goers to obey rules to stop COVID-19 spread

With another sunny weekend right around the corner, Metro Vancouver parks staff are urging everyone to enjoy the outdoors responsibility amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Past sunny weekends have seen groups of people gathering in parks and there is concern about the lack of social distancing.

“Metro Vancouver has kept regional parks open as outlets for people to safely enjoy the outdoors, but we are seeing too many visitors neglecting physical distancing guidelines, raising the risk of community virus transmission,” Sav Dhaliwal, chair of the Metro Vancouver board of directors said in a release.

“As Dr. [Bonnie] Henry warned earlier this week, we must keep our physical interactions to about 60 [per cent] of normal in order to avoid a major spike in new cases.”

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0:53 Large crowd gathers at Vancouver beach for popular drum circle

Officials are asking everyone to follow these guidelines to enjoy the outdoors:

• Choose parks in your own area – do not travel across the region
• Avoid beach parks – explore nearby trail-based parks instead
• Walk, bike, or take transit to avoid contributing to traffic and parking issues
• Maintain a physical distance of at least two metres from others at all times, including in parking lots
• Dispose of tissues and other waste in designated garbage bins
• Pack it in, pack it out – do not leave any items behind in parks
• Wash or sanitize hands frequently during the day and upon returning home
• Stay home if you are sick

1:40 ‘Keep your group small’: Dr. Bonnie Henry on stricter enforcement of Vancouver beach gatherings

Parks such as White Pine Beach at Sasamat Lake in Belcarra Regional Park and Boundary Bay Regional Park have been especially busy, particularly on weekends, leading to local traffic, parking, and physical distancing challenges.

Premier John Horgan pleaded with all British Columbians on Thursday to follow public health guidelines and slow the spread of COVID-19.

Horgan said he was frustrated seeing pictures from Kelowna and a drum circle at Stanley Park’s Third Beach in Vancouver showing groups of mostly young people gathering closely together and not observing physical-distancing.

“It is not the time to make new friends. It is time to reinforce the friends you have. We cannot go back to normal interactions. I am appealing to British Columbians to use their good sense,” he said.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in British Columbia topped 300 on Thursday, as the province reported another 30 new diagnoses.

Henry also reported another death, bringing the total number of fatalities in B.C. to 190.

Henry said people need to get serious about limiting their social interactions as cases continue to climb.

-with files from Richard Zussman and Simon Little