Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry believes B.C. may be in a better position to remove some restrictions on social gatherings come mid-February, should current trends continue. (File Photo/BC Government)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

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NANAIMO — B.C.’s provincial health officer is staying true to her word suggesting the province is on the right side of COVID-19’s fifth wave.

During a media briefing on Friday, Jan. 28, Dr. Bonnie Henry reiterated her optimism restrictions could begin to be lifted as immunization rates rise and cases of the highly infectious Omicron variant dwindle.

“If we are continuing on this trajectory then yes, I do hope that we will be able to lift some of those restrictions and gradually get back to those needed connections that we have,” Henry said.

The next set of public health orders are up for a review ahead of their current expiration of Feb. 16.

Despite the continued confidence from B.C.’s top doctor, she cautioned the province isn’t out of the woods yet.

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Hospitals continue to be pushed to the limit with admissions, including 977 currently being treated.

Nanaimo Regional General Hospital is also dealing with two, simultaneous but otherwise unconnected outbreaks.

Multiple long-term care homes in the city also continue to deal with positive cases.

The situation should, according to Henry, begin to correct early into next month.

“We don’t expect to see the [numbers in hospital drop] for some time, but we’re also at a point where much in the community is changing and people have a level of immunity because we’ve stepped up for booster doses.”

Henry also spoke on the two year anniversary of the pandemic in B.C., which passed earlier in January.

Testing, vaccination and other layers of defence were all achievements she touted, allowing people to live a more normal life than what was imposed in mid-March 2020 as cases spiked.

“We learned that different tools are needed at different times and this is reflected in our testing strategy which has changed multiple times,” Henry said. “Early on we set our goals for this pandemic…to reduce morbidity and mortality, so sickness and death, as much as possible.”

As of Thursday, Jan. 27, British Columbia had recorded 318,906 cases of COVID-19.

A total of 2,588 people have died as a result of the pandemic including 168 within Island Health.

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