B.C. is cracking down on the number of people allowed at social gatherings.
Following the highest-number of COVID-19 cases recorded yet in a single day, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced Monday that she was limiting gatherings in private homes to no more than your immediate household plus your “safe six.”
That refers to the six additional people in your household’s bubble, not six additional people per person living in your house.
The mass gathering order, already in place means no one is allowed to have a gathering of more than 50 people.
However, every location must have sufficient space that everyone can maintain safe physical distancing between attendees.
“Too often, over the last few weeks, we’ve been hearing stories every too often of people trying to put aside the safety plans, that feel it’s OK to have a few additional people,” Henry said.
“Or for people to mix and mingle and unfortunately, we have seen spread in these environments.”
Henry said we need to pay more attention to people coming together to celebrate, including events such as weddings, celebrations of life, and birthday parties.
“We have seen a notable increase in transmission of COVID-19 as a direct result of social gatherings in private homes,” she said, adding enforcement will be stepped up and further orders may be coming if people do not comply.
“To get through our COVID-19 storm it requires all of us to do our part,” she said.
British Columbia set yet another single-day record for new cases over a three-day period that saw 817 cases added to the provincial tally.
Three more people have died as well, health officials said, bringing B.C.’s COVID-19 death toll to 259.
Henry reported 317 new cases on Saturday, 293 on Sunday, and 207 on Monday.
The previous record of 274 was set last Thursday.
The province has now reported more than 200 cases per day for six consecutive days.
-with files from Simon Little