The multiple restaurants, pubs nightclubs in Nanaimo and all over the province will benefit from eased COVID-19 restrictions. (File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

eased restrictions

Provincial COVID restrictions sharply easing, vaccine card/indoor masks remain

Feb 15, 2022 | 1:51 PM

NANAIMO — As the Omicron variant levels off in B.C., several notable COVID-19 restrictions are about to be lifted province-wide.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced five key health orders will be removed as of Thursday, Feb 17.

Indoor personal gatherings are returning to normal, while capacity limits are being lifted for restaurants and pubs and nightclubs, which all will required mask-wearing and the BC Vaccine Card.

Indoor and outdoor organized gatherings can resume to full capacity, while events indoors and outdoors can return to full capacity. Fitness centres, adult sports and swimming in returning to full capacity, while tournament restrictions will no longer apply.

Dr. Henry announced remaining province-wide restrictions will be reviewed by March 15 and April 12.

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The BC Vaccine Card is slated to be in place through June 30, however Dr. Henry emphasized the measure will be among ongoing restrictions to be reviewed in the coming weeks.

She said the province is shifting to a long-term management strategy of the pandemic toward self management and specific actions to protect the most at risk.

“That’s focused on those key things that keep us safe including immunization and focussing attention on the things that we do for our saves based on our own risk and the risk in the community around us.”

She said encouraging developments leading to dropping many restrictions include high vaccination rates in the province, as well as people getting infected with the Omicron variant, further boosting immunity levels.

“Thankfully we’re starting to see now that transmission in our communities and the subsequent hospitalizations are starting to come down.”

According to the most recent immunization data, 90.5 per cent of eligible British Columbians have received their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 52.7 per cent of the eligible provincial population has received a booster shot.

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