Canada is extending its border restrictions on non-essential international travel for another month. The extended restrictions will include travel between Canada and the United States. The previous order was set to expire on June 21, it will now expire on July 21. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair made the announcement on Twitter on Friday morning. Blair says the government is “planning measures for fully vaccinated Canadians,” and further details will be provided on Monday. The measures at the border have been in place since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. The accelerated vaccine rollout in Canada is adding on the pressure to at least partially reopen the U.S. border after a fifteen-month shutdown. Trudeau has said his plan to ease travel measures will take a phased-in approach and some cabinet ministers suggest the gradual plan won’t begin until early July. In a panel discussion on Thursday, Canadian tourism groups say tens of thousands of jobs are on the line and many businesses are relying on a tourism season this summer.
Vehicles were already lining up at the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal before the gates even opened early Friday morning, with many eager to get out of town for the weekend. Plenty of people are hitting the road — or water — with this weekend marking the first in a long time that recreational travel is allowed within B.C. This comes after bookings soared this weekend, after the province entered the second step of its restart plan on Tuesday. A number of people were trying to get a jumpstart on their getaways, with the BC Ferries website crashing on Monday, just after Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced restrictions on non-essential travel were being lifted. Sailings for Thursday booked up quickly, with ferries leaving in the early afternoon already hitting capacity before noon. For Friday, the first sailings were mostly full before 6 a.m. As many look to take advantage of a sunny weekend, and also spend some time away for Father’s Day on Sunday, you’re being urged to check the sailing schedule ahead of time and make a reservation if possible.
Things will be nearly back to normal when B.C. students go back to school in September, with the province doing away with learning cohorts, which were introduced last year in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. “Students will be back in the classroom for full time in-person instruction,” Students will no longer be grouped into cohorts or learning groups, pending a further public health guidance. It’s also expected the current restrictions on gatherings, extracurricular activities and sports will be relaxed in time for the new school year, Remote learning will no longer be an option. Dr. Bonnie Henry says field trips and assembles will also likely happen again in the next school year. Mask-wearing standards in schools will be set later this summer. The back to school plan calls for daily health checks to remain in place, with Whiteside adding staff and students will be expected to stay home when they feel sick and be diligent with handwashing.
Provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry says a new federal guidance on mixing and matching doses is based on the results of a small study from Germany. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization says Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna are preferred as the second dose based on growing evidence the combination produces a stronger immune response after a first dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca. But Henry says other studies show all vaccines provide excellent protection from COVID-19 and two doses of any of the vaccines are safe and effective.
With the start of Phase Two of B.C.’s reopening plan, the mayor of White Rock says he’s ready to welcome visitors to the community once again — with a couple of caveats. Last month, when case counts were higher and people in the province were being asked not to leave their local area, Darryl Walker was pleading with people to postpone their trip to the beach or promenade. Now — with restrictions eased and sun in the forecast — he says the municipality is looking forward to an economic boost from tourists. “We obviously want people to come to our community when everything is safe and sound. So, as the government allows us to open up, we will be opening up further,” he said Thursday. One thing Walker doesn’t want is an influx of drivers tearing up and down the main drag. He’s ‘s asking visitors to park in order to minimize traffic congestion, particularly with Marine Drive being down to one lane to make way for expanded patios. Walker says it’s too soon to say how well recently expanded patios are working out for businesses and drivers, but this coming weekend will be a test.
People who got two shots of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine are reacting to new guidance on mixing and matching doses with mixed emotions. Gwenny Farrell of White Rock, B-C, says she’s frustrated with the new advice. After strictly following public health protocols throughout the pandemic and hearing that the first shot available is the best one to take, she says she now feels like she made a mistake. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization said yesterday the “preferred” second dose is Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna for anyone whose first jab was AstraZeneca.
Elections B-C has approved a petition launched by the widow of a murder victim that could set off a binding referendum over policing in Surrey. Darlene Bennett, with the group Surrey Police Vote, launched the campaign over concerns about rising costs associated with creating a new municipal police force that will replace the R-C-M-P. Bennett’s husband Paul was shot and killed in front of their Surrey home in 2018 in what police believe was a case of mistaken identity. She says she fears a change in police force will affect the investigation into his death. For the petition to succeed, setting off the provincial referendum, signatures from at least 10 per cent of the registered voters in each of B-C’s 87 electoral districts must be collected within 90 days of the petition’s start.
Licensed cannabis retailers will offer home delivery starting July 15th. The public safety ministry says this change builds on the August 2020 move allowing cannabis retail stores to sell their products online. It says only adults will be allowed to receive delivery orders, and anyone who appears to be under 19 will have to present two pieces of identification. It says the recipient won’t have to be a resident at the address or the person who placed the order but will have to give their name and signature to take delivery.
The prime minister says it doesn’t matter to him which vaccine he gets as his second dose. Justin Trudeau was given the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine as his first shot. He says he will accept whichever COVID-19 vaccine is offered to him, based on guidelines from federal health officials. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization has said people who got the AstraZeneca vaccine as their first dose should get Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna for their second shot. Just two weeks ago, the committee said AstraZeneca recipients “could” get Pfizer or Moderna for their second shot if they wanted. It’s now gone further to say an m-R-N-A vaccine is the “preferred” choice.
BC health officials announced 109 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the province to 146,902. In a written statement, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said that broken down by health region, 13 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 65 are in the Fraser Health region, 26 are in the Interior Health region, and five in the Northern Health region. There are no new cases in the Island Health region. There are 1,389 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Of the active cases, 128 individuals are currently hospitalized, 48 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. There has been one new COVID-19-related death, for a total of 1,740 deaths in British Columbia. To date, 76.7% of all adults 18 and over in BC and 75.1% of those 12 and older have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. In total, 4,296,151 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in BC, 823,371 of which are second doses.
Travel restrictions at the Canada-U-S border will remain in place for at least another month. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the restrictions are still needed to prevent another wave of COVID-19, even as cases wane and vaccinations rise. Trudeau says he talked with the premiers about the border last night. Quebec Premier Francois Legault said today the scenario envisioned would see restrictions gradually eased starting July 21st for fully vaccinated travellers. The measures to restrict non-essential international travel have been in place since March 2020.