Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said she’s regularly inundated with hundreds of emails, each usually boiling down to some version of “What about my specific situation?”
And with Christmas around the corner, many are looking for guidance on whether their lives fall into the category of legitimate loophole or bad excuse.
“What I tell people is, look at the intent of this. The intent of this is to reduce those transmissions that we can have when we get together when we have social interactions,” said Henry Thursday.
“So the bottom line is as much as possible to stick with our household. If your household regularly includes your grandparents as part of caring for children, then you can make that decision about that risk to you and to your grandparents, in particular.”
What health officials don’t want, said Henry, are large numbers of people coming together. That means no dinners with you, your sisters, brothers and their children.
However, if a single person or a widower is looking to ward off loneliness, pick one child and their household unit to visit, said B.C.’s top doctor.
Or as Health Minister Adrian Dix put it, “This is a crucial moment. If there’s any doubt, err on the side of keeping your loved ones safe.”
One person who will continue to jump from house to house over the holidays: Santa Claus.
“He’s going to be very very careful,” said Henry. “He’s going to be wearing masks when he’s in houses, and he’s going to be cleaning his hands a lot, and the reindeer are going to be very careful as well.
“So no leaving out the cookies and milk this year, and let’s just be happy he can make it around the world.”
