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No 14-day quarantine for interprovincial travel: Horgan

No BC quarantine rules yet

Despite Manitoba moving to implement a 14-day quarantine rule for those entering the province, B.C. has no similar plans.

Tuesday, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister announced anyone returning home to Manitoba from anywhere in Canada will be required to self-isolate for 14 days beginning Friday, but during a media availability Wednesday, B.C. Premier John Horgan said his government will not be following suit for the time being.

“Until such time as the public health officer advises me that there's a benefit to going down that road, we're going to leave it untraveled for the time being,” Horgan said.

He noted that B.C. would have “a logistical challenge” in putting in interprovincial travel restrictions compared to Manitoba, because there are more major roads into B.C. and more large airports.

“The public health evidence is not there at this time and Dr. Henry assures me that when that evidence is there, she'll present it to me,” he said.

“If we see through public health that an increase in the number of people from outside of British Columbia is contributing significantly to an increase in the number of community outbreaks, we'll take action ... but we don't believe it's necessary at this time.”

Earlier this month, Horgan said his government had sought consultation on the legal issues that might come with implementing interprovincial travel restrictions, but chose not to put any of those restrictions in place. Those arriving anywhere in Canada from another country must already self-isolate for 14 days.

While he discouraged anyone from travelling for non-essential purposes, Horgan did have a message for those travelling to B.C. for non-essential travel.

“You better behave appropriately, you better follow our public health guidelines, or we'll come down on you like a tonne of bricks,” he said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that all Canadians should cancel any non-essential travel plans, both abroad or within Canada, as new restrictions are on their way. When those come, or what they might look like, remains unknown.



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