VANCOUVER -- Dozens of bars and pubs across B.C. were caught violating COVID-19 rules in an enforcement blitz centred around Super Bowl Sunday.
But the vast majority of the 230 establishments visited by inspectors were found to be in compliance with health and safety orders, according to WorkSafeBC.
"There were violations," said Al Johnson, WorkSafeBC's head of prevention services. "But for the most part, employers were doing what they needed to do."
Some 32 workplaces were handed one or more violation orders to address issues ranging from inadequate cleaning of high-touch areas to a lack of proper physical distancing.
Inspectors also wrote up bars for lacking a posted occupancy limit and failing to perform daily health checks for workers.
The Super Bowl-focused blitz began on Feb. 3 and continued right through game day – Johnson said nearly half of the inspections were conducted on Sunday alone. A total of 49 inspectors took part.
WorkSafeBC has done enforcement blitzes before targeting particular industries, including poultry plants and mink farms, and recently decided to do its first geographically specific blitz in Whistler, where cases have been surging at an alarming rate in recent weeks.
Inspectors went to the resort municipality on the weekend of Jan. 30 along with investigators from Vancouver Coastal Health. Out of 62 inspections, 35 resulted in violation orders.
"Some of those are relatively minor where maybe they just needed to put up a few more signs, or a little bit more training," Johnson said.
Inspectors were also surprised to find a number of businesses – less than a dozen – had no written safety plan for operating during the pandemic. While the employers were taking some precautions, Johnson called a written plan "really the fundamental beginnings of COVID prevention."
The inspectors visited bars, restaurants, retail stores, grocery stores, liquor stores and the ski hill. The names of the businesses have not been released.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Penny Daflos
