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Restrictions could ease for Family Day, B.C. marks two years of pandemic

Some restrictions could ease within three weeks

British Columbia marked a pandemic milestone Friday, exactly two years since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in the province. This as total hospitalizations neared a thousand.

Mixing realism with hope, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry told a media briefing there will be more challenges ahead with further mutations in the virus and as immunity wains, but some ongoing social restrictions could be eased in the coming weeks.

“The most recent [public health] orders are due for review before Feb.16 … and if we are continuing on this trajectory, then yes, I do hope we will be able to lift some of those restrictions,” Henry said.

She said the current peak in hospitalizations from the Omicron variant is putting a strain on health care facilities, but there is ever increasing immunity at the wider community levels as people step up for their booster doses.

However, Henry stressed there would not be a complete opening up of restrictions because of the risk of a ‘hard rebound,' as she put it.

Reflecting on the difficult past two years, the province’s top doctor admitted she did not think we would be in this phase of the ‘journey’ this long.

Booster lag

Meanwhile, not enough people are getting a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, with Health Minister Adrian Dix noting some 48,000 eligible people over the age of 70 who had been invited, had yet to book an appointment.

“It is urgent that this group of people gets vaccinated as they are more likely to be hospitalized if they acquire COVID-19,” he said.

In the 18-plus age demographic, Dix said over 670,000 people who had been invited for their booster jab had yet to make their booking, noting there were 600,000 appointments open across the province.

Fifty-one per cent of eligible children, aged 5 to 11, have had their first dose of a vaccine.

Dix strongly encouraged parents and caregivers to do the same, including second doses, which are now being administered to those who qualify following the eight-week interval.

Latest numbers

B.C. reported 2,137 new COVID cases Friday, 104 more than on Thursday. There were 990 COVID-positive people in hospital, 13 more than the previous day. The number of people receiving critical care remained unchanged at 141.

In the Interior, the BCCDC reported 686 new cases, 147 more than Thursday with 121 in hospital. That number is three more than Thursday. Twenty-two people are in critical care, two more than the previous day.

Published 2022-01-28 by Glenn Hicks

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