No gatherings for households with unvaccinated people in them under new B.C. restrictions
The new restrictions on gatherings announced in B.C. on Friday include an outright ban on parties and other informal events if unvaccinated people are on the guest list.
During Friday's announcement, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said the new rules mean households that include unvaccinated people cannot host parties or other gatherings.
"If you are unvaccinated or have members of your family who are unvaccinated, we cannot have personal gatherings in those settings right now," Henry said.
The new restrictions take effect at midnight on Monday. They limit personal gatherings to one household plus 10 people or one other household, and only if everyone involved in the gathering aged 12 or older is vaccinated.
The province also announced capacity limits for large events and restrictions on movements within restaurants, among other things. More details on the announcement can be found here.
It was unclear Friday how the province intended to enforce the restriction on gatherings involving unvaccinated people, particularly given the antagonistic relationship some opponents of vaccination and mask mandates have to COVID-19-related restrictions.
Asked about the difficulty of enforcement, Henry said the new rules are intended to provide support to people who have unvaccinated friends or relatives and are trying to do the right thing.
"What I'm hearing very clearly from people is they want direction about how to do this in the best way that they can," Henry said. "The number 10 is about having a manageable group and making sure that people are vaccinated, and this is to support people to have those conversations (about vaccination status)."
She said people hosting gatherings should ask prospective attendees in advance about their vaccination status, using the vaccinated-only invitation as an opportunity to broach an otherwise sensitive topic.
The provincial health officer did not say anything about legal consequences for hosts or attendees of gatherings involving unvaccinated people.
Earlier this year, when the province was still under a COVID-19-related state of emergency, police agencies were empowered to issue tickets and fines to those found to be violating public health orders.
When the state of emergency ended, fines under the Emergency Program Act stopped, but some non-compliant events have continued to face penalties.
Most of the fines issued under the Emergency Program Act had gone unpaid as of the end of the state of emergency.
This is a developing story and will be updated
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Prime Minister Trudeau to meet Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has landed in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Friday evening to meet with U.S.-president elect Donald Trump, sources confirm to CTV News.
'Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!': Details emerge in Boeing 737 incident at Montreal airport
New details suggest that there were communication issues between the pilots of a charter flight and the control tower at Montreal's Mirabel airport when a Boeing 737 made an emergency landing on Wednesday.
Hit man offered $100,000 to kill Montreal crime reporter covering his trial
Political leaders and press freedom groups on Friday were left shell-shocked after Montreal news outlet La Presse revealed that a hit man had offered $100,000 to have one of its crime reporters assassinated.
Cucumbers sold in Ontario, other provinces recalled over possible salmonella contamination
A U.S. company is recalling cucumbers sold in Ontario and other Canadian provinces due to possible salmonella contamination.
John Herdman resigns as head coach of Toronto FC
John Herdman, embroiled in the drone-spying scandal that has dogged Canada Soccer, has resigned as coach of Toronto FC.
Musk joins Trump and family for Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago
Elon Musk had a seat at the family table for Thanksgiving dinner at Mar-a-Lago, joining President-elect Donald Trump, Melania Trump and their 18-year-old son.
Billboard apologizes to Taylor Swift for video snafu
Billboard put together a video of some of Swift’s achievements and used a clip from Kanye West’s music video for the song “Famous.”
Trudeau says no question Trump is serious on tariff threat
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says incoming U.S. president Donald Trump's threats on tariffs should be taken seriously.
In a shock offensive, insurgents breach Syria's largest city for the first time since 2016
Insurgents breached Syria's largest city Friday and clashed with government forces for the first time since 2016, according to a war monitor and fighters, in a surprise attack that sent residents fleeing and added fresh uncertainty to a region reeling from multiple wars.