British Columbians react to new COVID-19 restrictions

New Year’s Eve events are slowly being cancelled in B.C. after Dr. Bonnie Henry banned them Friday afternoon.

One of the first major cancellations was Bryan Adams’ concert on Dec. 31 at Rogers Arena, which was a seated event. Everyone who bought tickets will get a refund.

British Columbians are responding with mixed reactions to the new restrictions.

THREAD:
Hearing mixed reactions from industries regarding B.C.’s new COVID restrictions.
Lee McCaw with Chilliwack’s Minor Hockey Association says two extremely important tournaments happening over the next 2 weeks where scouts normally come and watch now won’t happen.

— Robyn Crawford (@robyncrawford_) December 18, 2021

The minor hockey community is calling it a big blow, while restaurants are fairly pleased.

Tournaments will be canceled, which limits how much sports teams can do over the holiday season.

President of the Chilliwack Minor Hockey Association Lee McCaw says that includes two extremely important tournaments that won’t be happening this year.

“Some kids have worked their whole lives to get to this moment, at this age where they get to be seen by those that can reward them for all their efforts and hard work and skill, and it’s not going to be able to happen,” he said.

“Our tournaments, for instance, hold over 50 teams from around the province and even across the country.”

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Earlier this year, other tournaments were canceled due to flood restrictions.

“It’s just one thing after another,” he said.

Compared to sports, the restaurant industry is fairly pleased with the new rules.

Ian Tostenson, head of the BC Restaurant Association, says not much will change for people who want to dine out.

“It’s basically business as usual,” he said. “What we want to make sure of, though, is that people understand that they can’t do a hopper bingo,” he said, referring to the ban on mingling from table to table.

“We have to be sort of muted, but that’s fine. I mean, we can actually have a New Year’s celebration. They just won’t be running around and kissing everybody under the mistletoe at 12 o’clock. We just have to stay at the table.”

Meantime, the restaurant industry is fairly pleased with the news.
Ian Tostenson heads BC’s Restaurant Association and says not much will change for people eating out.

— Robyn Crawford (@robyncrawford_) December 18, 2021

There is no capacity on table sizes or hours, which gives restaurants some wiggle room to continue operating.

Last year, in efforts to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission at large gatherings, liquor distribution ended by 8:00 pm on New Year’s Eve.