The restrictions on travel across British Columbia will be extended until mid-June in order to stop the spread of COVID-19 and variants of concern.
Provincial officials revealed B.C.'s Restart Plan Tuesday (May 25), which indicates the restrictions that prohibit non-essential travel between three regional zones in the province will continue until June 15; recreational travel within a regional zone is permitted.
The regional zones are:
- Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley (Fraser Health and Coastal Health regions);
- Vancouver Island (Island Health region); and
- Northern/Interior (Interior Health and Northern Health regions).
Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth told reporters in a press briefing on April 23 that a $575 fine will under the Emergency Program Act. The order has been extended and people from outside the province who are travelling in B.C. for non-essential reasons can be subject to the same enforcement measures.
Under the EPA, an order restricting non-essential travel between certain regions of the province remains in place until June 15 at midnight.
Non-essential travel under the Emergency Program Act
Only one person has been issued a ticket for non-essential travel under the Emergency Program Act. On May 1, a North Vancouver man heading over the Malahat when . The officer asked the driver why he was travelling and he was told to get back on the ferry.
When stopped at a road check restricting non-essential travel, police only have the authority to request:
- a driver’s name, address and driver’s license
- any available documentation regarding driver’s name and address (for example, secondary identification that confirms a driver’s residential address if recently moved)
- the purpose of the driver’s travel (documentation regarding travel is not required)
Passengers in vehicles will not be checked.
