There’s a great deal of confusion circulating in BC about #Covid19 restrictions and enforcement. I’m going to try to bring some clarity.

THE RULES

There are actually very few mandatory orders in place at the moment and most of them have been issued by the Province.

BC’s Provincial Health Officer) has only issued five Orders to date:

- no gatherings over 50 people;
- self-isolation for travelers;
- closure of restaurants and bars; and
- rules for long term care workers (2)

They can be found at this link - https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/current-health-topics/covid-19-novel-coronavirus

The balance of the statements made by the Provincial Health Officer are in the nature of guidelines or recommendations. They are not mandatory. They are not enforceable.

• There is at present no Provincial order prohibiting gatherings of less than 50 people;

• there is no Provincial order requiring people to stay 2m/6ft away from each other; and

• there is no rule requiring people to stay home or in their community and not travel elsewhere.

In this manner, the Province has chosen to approach this crisis with persuasion more than coercion.

I’m just pointing this out. I leave it to others to argue whether this is the right approach.

The Province has also opted to take emergency powers away from most municipalities.

Municipalities actually have very limited ability to impose restrictions on people to combat this crisis. The primary tools relate to land use - closing facilities & regulating parking (all of which #westvan & #northvan have done).

Notably, we can’t impose distancing rules.

I’ve heard from many residents frustrated that we aren’t doing more to compel appropriate behaviour.

The present Prov rules are the rules we are stuck with & our local tools are limited & blunt.

Enforcement is even more complicated & a subject I’ll address in the next thread