New COVID-19 Health Measures for All Interior Health Region

 

Interior Health introduced new public health orders to manage COVID-19 activity covering the entire Interior Health region (which encompasses the Thompson Okanagan region).

Health Measures

Effective at midnight tonight:

  • Masks are mandatory in all indoor public spaces for people 12 years and older.

  • Low-intensity indoor group exercise is permitted to a maximum 10 people per class.

  • High intensity indoor group exercise is not permitted.

  • Outdoor group exercise is permitted up to 50 people per class.

Effective Monday, August 23 at 8 AM:

  • Gatherings in vacation rentals are limited to five guests or one additional household.

  • Indoor personal gatherings are limited to ten guests or one other household.

  • Outdoor personal gatherings (e.g. birthday parties, backyard BBQs, block parties) are limited to no more than 50 people.

  • Organized indoor gatherings (e.g. weddings, funerals, seated events) are limited to 50 people, and outdoors gatherings are limited to 100 people, both requiring a COVID-19 safety plan.

 

The previous orders for Central Okanagan food and liquor establishments remain in place.

These measures will remain in place until the end of September and Interior Health experiences lower cases and higher vaccination rates.

 

Get Vaccinated

Interior Health is calling on everyone, particularly young adults to get the vaccine, especially those who work in jobs interacting with the public. The vaccine is the most effective way to protect yourself and to reduce transmission in the community.

Most people are being exposed at social gatherings, workplaces, or in private households. The delta variant is leading to faster transmission and more severe outcomes for younger people.

The vast majority of cases are in people who are unimmunized or partially immunized and in adults between 20-40 years old. For those who haven’t yet gotten their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, Interior Health recommends getting it now.

The interval between first and second COVID-19 vaccine doses has decreased to 28 days for everyone.

People can get vaccinated by dropping into any IH immunization clinic or by booking an appointment. Pop-up clinics are being added in communities throughout the region.

Additional Recommendations for Operators:

In addition to encouraging others to receive the vaccine, it is important that operators take the following steps to mitigate the spread of COVID-19:

  • Ensure that cleaning and sanitization protocols are being held to the highest standards.

  • Encourage staff to stay home from work and receive a COVID-19 test should they be feeling ill.

  • Continue to ensure your communicable disease plan is being followed

  • Implement additional safety measures.

Tourism Industry Key Messaging

Health and safety continues to be the top priority. Public health leaders are putting additional recommendations in place to protect us all.

Residents and visitors are asked to follow the public health measures set by the province, communities, and individual businesses to protect people, businesses, and the economy from the continued spread of COVID-19.

Businesses are facing challenges like never before. Visitors are reminded to be kind, patient, and supportive of businesses and employees.

Business Support

The TOTA team is here to help with the challenges your business is facing. As part of TOTA's Tourism Resiliency Program tourism companies can access the following free supports:

 
Thompson OkanaganThompson Okanagan Tourism AssociationCOVID-19