Now is not the time for big parties or playdates, says B.C.'s top doctor | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Now is not the time for big parties or playdates, says B.C.'s top doctor

Image Credit: ADOBE STOCK

Playdates and parties need to be limited, B.C. 's top doctor said today, after announcing 817 new cases of COVID-19 and a new health public health order.

"I get asked...'you know my kid is in the class with these children so can they go on playdates? Can I have a birthday party with 20 of the children that are in the class?" Dr. Bonnie Henry said. "And the short answer to that really is now you need to keep it small. This is not a time to have a birthday party with 20 kids because we know that even though the kids may be in the same cohort or learning group that the parents are not necessarily."

The issue isn't so much the kids, as it is the parents.

"We know that the parents often will get together and if there's a possibility of transmitting, those are things that we want to step back from right now. We want to focus on the activities that are important for the children in the schools and keeping the schools open and keeping playdates small and outside, for the most part."

Halloween parties, in turn, should also be off the books.

In recent weeks, Dr. Henry has asked parents to limit their children's extracurriculars to reduce the number of contacts.

The public health order issued sees households kept to the address's residents plus six. Dr. Henry also asked that people wear masks when in indoor public spaces.

"My expectation around masks as we're going into this respiratory season, and we know that COVID is still with us, is that we will all be wearing masks in public spaces," she said. "So if I'm going to the grocery store, if I'm going to the hardware store or the Costco or on public transit, or need to... renew my driver's license, you know, those are times when we need to wear masks."

All British Columbians need to pay attention to that, she said, now that it's become clear that masks can be an additional layer of protection, both for ourselves and for others.

Schools, however, aren't seeing any changes when it comes to masking policy. 

"There are provisions for masks in certain areas of the school and it doesn't change the way the school plans are designed and what they should be doing, or how we should be wearing masks in the school setting," she said.

"I know that young people are adaptable and that many of them are wearing masks on a routine basis, whether they are ordered to or not."


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