By James Peters

COVID-19

Province unveils three-week ‘circuit breaker’ with stronger restrictions as COVID-19 cases soar

Mar 29, 2021 | 1:44 PM

VICTORIA — Citing the need for a “circuit breaker” in the face of rising COVID-19 spread, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced several new temporary restrictions Monday (Mar. 29).

With the majority of spread still taking place indoors, Henry targeted her restrictions toward indoor activities:

• All indoor meal service at B.C. restaurants has been suspended. Take-out and patio service is still allowed
• Variance to allow indoor, in-person religious services has been called off.
• All indoor, adult group fitness activities paused. One-on-one fitness training still allowed.
• Whistler-Blackcomb resort closed.
• All students from Grade 4 to 12 should wear masks in school.

The restrictions begin at midnight tonight and last until April 19.

Henry also reiterated that those who can work from home should do that, and that no one should be travelling except when that travel is essential.

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The new restrictions come with the backdrop of more than 2,500 new cases found in B.C. over the past three days.

Henry announced 2,518 new cases — 936 on Saturday, 805 on Sunday and 774 on Monday.

There were 156 new cases in Interior Health over the weekend.

Since the pandemic arrived in B.C., there have been 98,165 cases found in the province, spread out as follows:

• 23,580 — Vancouver Coastal (up by 816)
• 56,941 — Fraser Health (up by 1,280)
• 3,238 — Island Health (up by 142)
• 8,414 — Interior Health (up by 156)
• 5,898 — Northern Health (up by 121)
• 174 — Reside outside of Canada (up by 3)

There are 6,902 active cases in B.C. Monday, an increase of 657 from Friday. Henry reported 299 people in hospital Monday, including 79 in critical or intensive care.

Within Interior Health, there are 447 cases active Monday, up by 69 from Friday. That includes 17 people in hospital and five in critical care.

Six more people have died of COVID-19, raising the province’s death toll to 1,455. None of the deaths took place in Interior Health.

An additional 329 cases have been identified as variants of concern, for a total of 2,233 variant cases. Four-hundred-thirteen of those cases remain active.

The province notes 699,092 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far. Henry says B.C. will fall in line with the rest of Canada in pausing use of the AstraZeneca vaccine among people under the age of 55. She says it will be paused for at least a few days while studies are done on rare cases of negative side effects.