B.C.'s new COVID-19 restrictions on religious gatherings met with mixed reactions
New restrictions on in-person religious gatherings in B.C. have been met with mixed reactions from places of worship.
On Tuesday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced multiple new restrictions including the removal of an indoor mask mandate exemption.
Previously, those attending church services and other religious gatherings were exempt from provincial mask mandates, though they were still encouraged to wear face coverings.
However, with concerns caused by the new Omicron variant, Henry lifted the exemption.
"There'll be some tension,” said Mardi Dolfo-Smith, discipleship pastor at the North Shore Alliance Church.
"We understand why that’s a requirement but it will cause some hardship for some of our people who are adverse to wearing masks.”
On top of the mask mandate, worship services must now be limited to 50 per cent capacity, unless every participant is vaccinated.
Dolfo-Smith says they’ll go with the capacity limit option to ensure none of their members are left out.
"The people that have chosen not get vaccinated really need to be in the community, they need to meet with us, they need to know they're cared for and loved,” she said.
“Excluding them could be detrimental to the unity in our community."
Dolfo-Smith says they fear that the province will soon make full vaccination a requirement for everybody entering into places of worship.
“That would cause a lot of conflict in our community," she said.
However, at the Congregation Beth Israel Conservative Synagogue, that same concern is not shared.
"We have had a vaccine mandate in place for a number of months now,” said Rabbi Jonathan Infeld.
Infeld says their members were in support of the requirement, with little to no push back.
"People have been happy to show their vaccine passport or other proof that they're vaccinated, it's gone really well.”
No timetable was given on how long the new rules will remain in place.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire' are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Early results from London, U.K., suggest Labour's Sadiq Khan will secure a record third term as mayor
Sadiq Khan, the Labour Party's mayor of London, appeared Saturday to be romping to victory as results from the capital pour in.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.