BC just announced new restrictions on bars, gyms & gatherings for the holidays

Last week, the Province of BC announced new measures relating to curbing the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. And, following a weekend of rising case numbers, the provincial government has decided to introduce even more measures to try and stop the uptick. These new measures go into effect on Wednesday, December 22nd. Here’s what to know about them.

First up (and most pressing for the holidays), is the total ban on organized indoor gatherings of any size. This ban includes both public and private events, including wedding receptions, celebratory events, New Year’s Eve parties, and of course, Christmas parties.

This, however, doesn’t change personal gatherings which are still limited to your household plus 10 guests. Or, if it’s larger than 10 guests you can have one additional household as long as everyone is vaccinated.

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As an extension of that, bars and nightclubs will have to stop operating while these measures are in place. On the restaurant front, tables will once again be limited to 6 people maximum, with the return of either physical distancing measures or barriers coming back into play.

The measures also extend to gyms and other workout spaces. This means gyms, fitness centres, and dance centres will all once again close down, and all sports tournaments are cancelled (although, this measure was announced on Friday). And finally, all events, not just large ones, will now be reduced to 50% capacity- and this includes movie theatres, live shows, and professional sporting events.

So yeah, we’re pretty much back to where we were a few months ago. These new measures will go into effect on Wednesday, December 22nd at 11:59 PM, with the hopes that they will be lifted by January 18th, 2022. For more information, head to the BC Government website.