As of July 1, British Columbia will largely lift restrictions on capacity and hours at restaurants and bars, marking a change in COVID-19 restrictions first put in place more than a year ago.
The wearing of face masks is also no longer mandatory.
More than 78 per cent of British Columbians have now been vaccinated at least once against COVID-19, according to the province.
When Step 3 of B.C.'s four-phase "Restart Plan" begins on July 1, 2021, there will be no provincial public health orders restricting how many people may be seated in a party at all restaurants, pubs, and bars.
In a press conference June 29 Premier John Horgan confirmed that B.C. was entering into Step 3 on the Canada Day holiday.
"I believe we can take the next step forward," said Horgan.
"We're moving most of the restrictions at restaurants, bars, and pubs," said B.C.'s public health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
Henry said that, while the mask mandate was being lifted, wearing a face covering will still help prevent the spread of disease.
"We may be seeing less people wearing masks, but right now, we still will expect most people to be wearing masks in those indoor settings when we're around other people," she said.
During Step 3, businesses will gradually transition to new communicable disease plans, with guidelines for these plans released by WorkSafeBC on June 28, according to the B.C. government.
"These plans will continue to include physical barriers at many business and retail settings. Capacity limits, formal health screening tests and directional arrows, as well as other physical distancing measures will no longer be required. However, they may still be used during this transition period," notes a media release from the premier, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation.
Not changing will be the restrictions on socializing between tables, which will also be a rule for nightclubs, which will be able to re-open, with seated parties of up to 10 permitted as of July 1.
Not all restaurants are likely to immediately throw away their current COVID-19 safety set-ups or be willing to seat groups of seven or more. Most serving staff may still be wearing face masks as well.
Justin Tisdall, who co-owns three Vancouver food and drink ventures, says while there will be some slight changes in operations starting July 1, his businesses will be waiting until staff can reach full vaccination status.
The Step 3 permits bars to run until 1 a.m. weeknights and 2 a.m. weekends, but Tisdale said that will likely depend on consumer demand.
"We've gotten pretty used to these protocols," said Tisdall, who notes that he anticipates that not all guests may feel comfortable right away with the relaxed rules.
"We're in different places," acknowledges Henry of where B.C. residents and business owners stand at this moment when it comes to comfort levels with reduced restrictions.
A major step forward from the pandemic is allowing Canada-wide travel for British Columbians, and welcoming all others into B.C.
The Vancouver Airport Authority said that, as of July 5, fully vaccinated travellers, who already have the right to enter Canada, and who have received two doses of vaccines 14 days prior to entering the country, will be exempt from hotel quarantines, and testing, after eight days.
The fourth, and final, step in the province's reopening is slated to go into effect no earlier than September 7, 2021.
