Kelowna 
British Columbia has unveiled more restrictions in addition to the limits on indoor personal gatherings, indoor capacity of venues, New Year’s Eve parties cancellations announced last Friday.
The new measures unveiled by the provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry include the closure of bars, nightclubs, gyms, fitness centres and dance studios and will come into effect at at 11:59 p.m, December 22, 2021.
No indoor social gatherings are allowed and this includes weddings, receptions, parties of all sizes at all venues.
Restaurants and cafes are allowed to remain open but are required to only seat a maximum of six per table and no mingling between tables are allowed.
The capacity limits are reduced to 50 per cent for all organized seated events at venues like performance halls, sports stadiums and movie theatres.
List of New Restrictions
Revised provincial health officer orders will take effect on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. and will extend to Jan. 18, 2022, at 11:59 p.m., and include:
- no organized indoor social events and gatherings of any size;
- concerts, sports games and theatres reduced to 50% seated capacity, regardless of venue size;
- closing gyms, fitness centres and dance studios;
- closing bars and nightclubs; and
- limiting table sizes at restaurants, cafes and pubs to a maximum of six people per table with physical distancing or barriers.
Announcing the new restrictions, Dr. Henry said, “I know everyone is looking forward to being around their family and friends this holiday season after two challenging years. These restrictions balance the need for people to come together with the people they love with the need to collectively act to slow the spread of COVID-19. We know how to get through this – by following the same measures we’ve followed in the past to protect each other.”
British Columbia is also postponing non-urgent scheduled surgeries starting Jan. 4, 2022, but will continue urgent and emergency surgeries.
The province says the rescheduling of surgeries will be determined through continuous monitoring of capacity and COVID-19 impacts throughout January and on a regional basis.
