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Businesses push for regional approach to COVID restrictions

Island businesses are pleading for regional — rather than province-wide — COVID safety restrictions, saying they shouldn’t have to take an economic hit because of corona­virus outbreaks on the Lower Mainland.
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Government Street has been partially closed off to motor traffic so that businesses can expand onto the sidewalk and street. ADRIAN LAM, TIMES COLONIST October 2020

Island businesses are pleading for regional — rather than province-wide — COVID safety restrictions, saying they shouldn’t have to take an economic hit because of corona­virus outbreaks on the Lower Mainland.

Kim Breiland, artistic director for Stages Performing Arts School in Saanich, said she’s worried the provincial health office will introduce new restrictions for dance studios in light of the “superspreader” outbreak at a Chilliwack dance studio.

“We’re all watching and all holding our breath and hoping [provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry] will adopt a regional approach,” she said. “They didn’t close all the gyms when the spin classes had outbreaks. They didn’t close all the restaurants when some of the restaurants had cases.”

A total of 38 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in an outbreak at Capella Dance Academy in Chilliwack, which Fraser Health’s chief medical officer called a “superspreader” event.

The outbreak has led to exposures involving 13 schools.

On Thursday, Henry didn’t mention any special measures for dance studios, saying only that people should exercise caution with indoor events, especially in areas with high COVID-19 case numbers. A record-breaking 425 new COVID-19 cases were reported in B.C. on Thursday, including seven on Vancouver Island.

Breiland said her dance school has implemented stringent safety measures, including mandatory masks for all dancers, teachers and staff. Everyone who comes in the building is asked health screening questions and required to sanitize their hands, while parents do pick-up and drop-off outside. In the studio, all dancers must keep physical distance and stay in their designated areas.

“I think we have to be ­realistic about where we’re at on Vancouver Island,” she said. “When you look at the amount of cases in our region … we’re doing very well.”

Jeff Bray, executive director of the Downtown Victoria Business Association, said the relatively small number — 281 — of COVID-19 cases on Vancouver Island since the start of the pandemic shows Island businesses and residents have shown a willingness to adhere to public-health guidelines. While he acknowledged people can travel freely around the province, bringing the virus with them, Bray noted the Island did not see an uptick in cases over the summer at the height of the tourist season.

“If there’s an outbreak in one part of the province, don’t treat us all the same and put in additional restrictions that are not going to have any health impact here, but will have a serious economic negative impact,” Bray said.

Bray is hearing from Victoria bars and restaurant owners who would like to be able to serve alcohol past 10 p.m. and banquet hall operators who would like to reopen. In September, Henry issued a public health order that said B.C. bars and restaurants must stop serving liquor at 10 p.m. and doors should close at 11 p.m. unless the establishment serves food.

“For the economy, what we’re saying, if we’re seeing the need for additional restrictions, they should be based on the evidence of where those increases are coming from,” Bray said.

Ontario has implemented regional restrictions, with restaurants, bars and gyms ordered closed in the Toronto, Peel region and Ottawa, but not the rest of the province.

Henry has previously resisted implementing region-specific restrictions, but on Thursday she said the provincial health office is talking to regional health authorities about whether they should impose extra measures.

“We have provincial-level baseline [measures] that address situations that are the same around the province, but yes, we are also looking at discussing with regions whether they need to take additional measures that are specific to issues or situations they’re seeing within their region,” Henry said at a news conference.

Henry acknowledged that Vancouver Island has emerged “relatively unscathed” in terms of COVID-19 outbreaks, but she did not propose lifting any of the restrictions that apply to the Island.

Henry noted that some activities are riskier in some areas where case numbers are higher, saying, for example, that indoor spin classes in Metro Vancouver are dangerous.

Days after the Oct. 26 provincial health order limiting the number of people in private homes to the people who live there plus six others, Henry’s office gave regional medical officers the discretion to issue specific COVID-19 restrictions for their jurisdictions.

Health Minister Adrian Dix said the household plus “safe six” rule is not advisable for people in Metro Vancouver or the Fraser Valley, who would be safer sticking to just their households.

Henry did not give specifics on potential new public health orders, but said her office is in discussion “on whether we need to take additional actions for some of the riskier things we’re seeing in Metro Vancouver.”

kderosa@timescolonist.com