bc B.C. to restrict non-essential travel between 3 provincial health zones Those caught breaking the rules could be subject to $575 fine, public safety minister says The government of B.C. is restricting non-essential travel between three regional zones within the province, effective immediately. 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]." outdoors Evidence suggests outdoor COVID-19 transmission is low. Here's what you need to know Amid rising COVID case counts, the messaging around being outside needs to change because the risk of outdoor transmission is "really, really small" and the health benefits of being outdoors are immense, said Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti, an infectious diseases physician at Mississauga Hospital. Chakrabarti, who works in a COVID-19 hotspot, sees many patients with COVID — and they're not getting sick outside, he said. Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti says the risk of coronavirus outside is "'really, really small.' (Submitted by Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti) "In the third wave, it is abundantly clear the people who are getting infected and sick enough to come in are those with heavy, prolonged indoor exposure," he told White Coat, Black Art and The Dose host Dr. Brian Goldman. "It's almost exclusively from high-density work settings or the family members thereof, or high-density living settings, such as shelters."

canada Federal modelling data suggest lockdowns have slowed COVID-19 spread Dr. Theresa Tam says restrictive public health measures should be maintained until summer The stringent public health measures implemented in some provinces have slowed the rapid spread of COVID-19, according to new modelling data from the Public Health Agency of Canada. Top health officials are now urging provinces to maintain those restrictive policies until the summer to keep the pandemic at a manageable level. While recent weeks have seen a troubling spike in the number of deaths and hospitalizations as COVID-19 variants wreak havoc, province-wide restrictions and lockdowns in B.C., Ontario and Quebec are already showing results. Case counts are slowly levelling off in most provinces but the data suggest the number of new infections is still climbing in Alberta and Manitoba. The national "rT" — the metric that tracks the average number of people one infected person will pass the virus on to — has dipped below 1. Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer, called that "a spark of good news." If the provinces can keep the rT below one, then the number of new cases will continue to decline, she said.