From Friday, unvaccinated people will be allowed to go to restaurants, cinemas, indoor concerts and sports venues and anywhere else the provincial vaccination card is required. Vaccination rules for those living in post-secondary housing will also be abolished. However, proof of vaccination will still be required for federally regulated travel, such as on airplanes. Dr Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix gave the briefing during a briefing on COVID-19 on Tuesday. The couple first announced plans to stop using vaccine cards last month, saying then a dramatic increase in cases that could delay the decision. Tuesday’s announcement came with a presentation of models suggesting a slight increase in cases, as observed by sewage tests in the Lower Mainland. With activity boosts, more travel and a slightly more contagious variant, Henry said officials “know they are likely to see a slight increase over time next month to two months and then a gradual decline again.” Even so, Henry said some measures “are no longer necessary continuously”, including the vaccine card, which he said was “very effective in supporting people getting vaccinated”. Henry said it was up to individual companies to decide if they wanted to keep restrictions in place, such as mask rules or a vaccine card requirement. Other counties ended vaccine card programs much earlier than BC Ontario lifted its requirement in early March, while Alberta lifted its passport in February. The Quebec vaccine passport, which was stricter than BC and used to access cans and liquor stores, was phased out in mid-March. BC first announced the vaccine card last August and implemented the requirement in mid-September. The program was originally scheduled to end in late January, but was later extended as the number of cases remained high. “We are seeing a leveling in transmission, but that does not mean our province is no longer vulnerable to new possible variants coming in the future,” Henry said on Tuesday. “It was a difficult period and we have not overcome it yet.”
