B.C. tightens documentation requirements: BC Vaccine Card with QR code required to access restaurants as of Monday
As part of B.C.’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, residents are required to show proof of vaccination to enter restaurants and various other recreational settings, and starting on Monday, the proof-of-vaccination requirements will be stricter.
People have been allowed to prove their vaccination status in three ways: by downloading or printing their official BC Vaccine Card, or by showing the small paper card given to patients at vaccine clinics, which includes the type and date of each COVID-19 vaccine dose they received.
But come Monday, only the BC Vaccine Card will be accepted, as the province tightens up its documentation requirements.
“The transition period, which allowed people to present their paper record of immunization received at the time of their vaccination appointment, will end on Sept. 26,” reads a statement from the Ministry of Health.
The BC Vaccine Card contains a QR code which can be scanned by businesses using the BC Vaccine Verifier app.
Rio Theatre owner Corinne Lea says the rollout of the proof of vaccination program has been relatively smooth at her business.
“We’re used to asking for ID and checking tickets and scanning tickets,” Lea said. “The first week, some people forgot that they had to do the process, but they were still vaccinated.”
She welcomes the switch to the official BC Vaccine Card, saying other proof of vaccination documents, like the immunization records card given out at vaccine clinics, could easily be fake.
“It’s kind of hard to know how authentic those are,” she said. “When you are sitting in a half-full theatre and you know everyone is vaccinated, I just feel better about it.”
People can get their official BC Vaccine Card online at gov.bc.ca/vaccinecard. The Ministry of Health then recommends taking a screen shot once the card has loaded, and then saving that screenshot to their device's photo album or downloads folder. A person can also print out a hard copy.
The BC Vaccine Card includes a secure individualized QR code. The cards must be shown, along with a piece of photo ID, to access sit-down restaurants, fitness centres, movie theatres, cafes and other discretionary businesses.
Through Oct. 23, residents only need to be partially vaccinated. But starting on Oct. 24, they will need to have received two doses, according to the Ministry of Healthy’s vaccine card plan.
The vaccine card system came into effect on Sept. 13 and is in place until Jan. 31, 2022, but could be extended.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.