Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, announcing close to 1,000 people are self-isolating due to community exposures in Kelowna. (flckr/Gov't of B.C.)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

covid-19 update

Province places restrictions on bars, pubs and restaurants as COVID-19 cases steadily rise

Jul 22, 2020 | 4:48 PM

NANAIMO — Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry once again cautioned B.C. residents about expanding too far outside their social bubble.

She advised people continue to self-isolate and not be lured by the temptation of going out with friends and family as the province re-opens during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ve proven we know how to do this,” she said during her Wednesday, July 22 press conference. “We all need to take a step back and look at things we can do to bend our curve back down. Each of us needs to do our piece to make that happen.”

Dr. Henry said the province is imposing more restrictions on restaurants, bars and pubs to ensure the steadily rising number of new COVID-19 cases doesn’t rise further.

All patrons of the establishments must sit at their designated seat and not move around or seat hop. Dance floors are also now not allowed and measures will be put in place to reduce lineups.

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The restrictions are being re-imposed as the number of active cases jumps from around 150 in early July to nearly 300 on July 22.

Dr. Henry said nearly 1,000 people are currently self-isolating across all B.C. health authorities due to parties in the Kelowna area, which led to a community outbreak.

There are currently 285 active cases of COVID-19 in B.C.

Thirty-four new cases were confirmed on Wednesday, including three epi-linked cases.

The number of total cases on Vancouver Island rose by one to 141.

It actually dropped on Tuesday by two, due to a data correction.

There are currently eight active cases of COVID-19 on Vancouver Island.

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