Restrictions put in place for the Lower Mainland earlier this month are being extended by two weeks and expanded to include the entire province.

That means as of midnight tonight, social gatherings will be banned in Interior Health, and across British Columbia.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says if you live alone, you can still gather in private settings with up to two other people if they are people you are in regular contact with already.

Meantime, Henry says “it is okay to go for walks outside with a friend, okay to fix the furnace at your mother’s house, and it’s okay for grandparents to pick their grandkids up for school. These are not social gatherings.”

Worship services will be postponed. Ceremonies like baptisms, weddings and funerals are limited to 10 people but receptions for those events continue to be banned.

Gyms can stay open, but activities like spin classes, yoga classes, dance classes and fitness classes will be forced to be cancel.

Other sports like hockey or basketball, where physical distancing may not always be possible, are not being forced to postpone. Henry says no spectators will be allowed at indoor or outdoor sports, and travel outside of your community for sports will not be allowed either.

These province-wide orders will last until Dec. 7, though it could be extended further.

“It’s become apparent that this surge is happening across the province,” Henry said. “We all need to focus our efforts on stopping the spread and bending the curve back down.”

Masks Mandatory in Indoor Public Spaces

Furthermore, Henry also says an emergency order has been issued to make masks mandatory in all indoor public and retail spaces across B.C. Until now, making masks mandatory has been at the discretion of businesses themselves.

“This means if you are at work at your desk you do not need to wear a mask but if you are in a shared work space or a common space or a public space like elevators, hallways and other common areas you do,” she said.

“If you are in a restaurant, you need to wear a mask when you are not at your table. That includes coming into the restaurant, leaving the restaurant, going to the washroom.”

This new rule won’t apply to children under the age of two or people with disabilities that prevents them from doing so.

“We know that there are people with certain conditions and disabilities in some ways that would make masks wearing challenging. We need to be aware that some people’s disability or inabilities to wear a mask may not be readily apparent to people,” Henry added.

Further, restaurants and bars are not being shut down yet, but they are being put on notice.

“Those are settings where we have concerns that safety plans may not be followed and people may be mixing in a way that can be risky,” Henry said.

“We will be paying particular effort to inspecting COVID safety plans to making sure that they are being adhered to in these setting and if we have challenges, if we find they are not being adhered to, these businesses will be close down.”

The new orders come as 538 new COVID-19 cases were reported today in B.C., including 28 in Interior Health.

There are now 6,929 active cases in the province. There has also been one death today from the virus.