British Columbians must now wear masks in all indoor public places. It is part of sweeping new measures to crack down on the province’s second wave of COVID-19.
According to provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, she reversed her stance on the issue after hearing businesses were concerned about having to enforce guidelines on mask-wearing in a bid to slow the spread of the disease.
The recent spike in transmission has not been between workers and the public, but between workers themselves in places like break rooms and carpools.
The province also extended the Nov 7 ban on social gatherings in the Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal health regions to December and expanded it to the entire province.
All British Columbians are asked to avoid non-essential travel and have social gatherings only with those in their immediate household.
Along with the broad new orders, there are 538 new cases of COVID-19 and one new death. Other numbers, such as hospitalizations, continued to hit new highs while the number of active cases reached 6,929.
Additionally, the province restricted community events, including faith-based gatherings, until December 7.
In-person religious services are banned until then, except for weddings, baptisms, and funerals. Those events are capped at 10 people. Any gatherings before or after these events, such as receptions, are not allowed.
Churches and other religious spaces can still be used for childcare and self-help meetings.
The province is also pleading with people to avoid all non-essential travel within the province, with officials acknowledging a further blow to tourism operators but urging people to stay in their communities.
The new orders will not impact hair salons and restaurants, but customers can only visit with people in their immediate households.
For more information about this story, click here.
LEARN MORE
Learn more about face masks and how to stay safe by enrolling in a mask fitting test which is a requirement for many workspaces and schools or the available masks for sale by visiting our face mask sale page.
Our courses maintain social distancing measures with reduced class sizes to maintain the minimum 2 meters apart along with the mandatory use of face masks and regular temperature checks. The venue of the courses undergo regular, enhanced cleaning and disinfection routines.
For more information about face masks, check out these sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/about-face-coverings.html