B.C. Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said ‘there will be consequences’ for residents who don’t follow the travel restrictions. (Mike McArthur/CBC)
The government of B.C. is restricting non-essential travel between three regional zones within the province, effective immediately, according to the CBC.
The legal orders under the provincial Emergency Program Act are designed to limit the spread of COVID-19.
“These measures, most importantly, can save lives. And it’s in the best interest of all British Columbians to follow them,” said Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth. “There will be consequences for not following [them].”
The government is using provincial health authority regions to define the boundaries of the zones.
The three regional zones are:
- The Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley (Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health areas).
- Vancouver Island (Island Health).
- Northern and Interior regions (Northern health and Interior Health).
A portion of the Vancouver Coastal Health region north of the Sunshine Coast that includes areas like Bella Coola will now be considered part of the combined Northern and Interior regions, as will the District of Hope and the Central Coast, the government clarified Friday (April 23) afternoon.
The province is also working with police enforcement agencies to introduce additional measures to ensure they have the authority to conduct periodic roadside checks into and out of the defined regions.
“A contravention of this order may be subject to a $575 fine,” said Farnworth.
Farnworth says the order affects those who are traveling across regional zones for recreational purposes, but it is OK to travel for reasons deemed essential, such as:
- attending school or work.
- transporting commercial goods.
- returning to a principal residence.
- accessing child care.
- using health care or assisting someone in obtaining health care.
“The new variant strains are infecting more people and resulting in record levels of hospitalizations that place a growing strain on the front-line health workers who have been here for us throughout this pandemic. To help protect them and our communities, we must do more to discourage travel and begin to enforce restrictions on non-essential travel,” Farnworth said.
B.C. residents will not be able to book accommodations or camping sites outside their zone. Operators will cancel any bookings that have already been made.
B.C. Parks will ensure that anyone who has booked a provincial camping site outside of their zone will receive a refund.
BC Ferries will stop accepting bookings for recreational vehicles such as campers and trailers — and the ferry service will also contact passengers who have already made reservations to ensure they are essential travelers. It will not be implementing any extra sailings this year for the May long weekend.
Local camping, hiking still allowed
“This order is to ensure that people stop traversing large parts of the province,” Farnworth said. “Go hiking, go camping, but do it locally.”
Farnworth also said now is not the time for people from other provinces to travel to B.C., and inter-provincial travelers will be subject to the same consequences as residents.
“If you are coming into British Columbia from Alberta, and you decide you are now going to Vancouver … you potentially could get a fine,” he said.
To that end, the province is working with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to increase signage along the B.C./Alberta border.
