British Columbia officials on Friday reinstated a number of public health orders for the central Okanagan region, closing nightclubs, limiting restaurant meals and restricting the size of social gatherings until new order, as the delta variant causes the rapid spread of COVID-19.

Limits on the number of people allowed to assemble apply both indoors and outdoors. Nightclubs and bars will be closed from Friday, while alcohol cuts in restaurants will be at 10 p.m. PT.

People planning to travel to the central Okanagan should try to cancel or postpone, officials said. Anyone who is not vaccinated, in particular, should avoid the area.

“This is not where we wanted to be,” Provincial health worker Dr. Bonnie Henry said at a press conference Friday.

The latest wave of cases in British Columbia is concentrated in the Interior Health Region, with the “vast majority” in the central Okanagan. The region includes Kelowna, West Kelowna, Peachland, Lake Country and Rutland.

Gatherings in the central Okanagan are restricted as follows:

• Outdoor gatherings, such as birthdays or backyard barbecues – maximum 50 people.
• Personal gatherings indoors – maximum five people or one additional household.
• Indoor / outdoor organized and seated gatherings, such as weddings – maximum 50 people.
• Vacation rentals, such as houseboats or Airbnbs: Maximum of five people in addition to occupants.

A mask warrant imposed last week in an attempt to slow the spread remains in place.

Nearly 60 percent of the new cases reported for the entire province on Thursday were in the Interior Health Region.

Officials said the outbreak in the central Okanagan has tripled from around 300 cases to around 1,200 since last week. The delta variant accounts for 80 percent of cases. Most of the patients are younger people between the ages of 20 and 40 who are only partially or completely unvaccinated, officials said.

The outbreak has also spread to the healthcare system at a time when resources are already strained due to aggressive forest fires, smoky skies and persistent heat in the region. “Dozens” of healthcare workers in acute care have been infected, officials say, and there are two new outbreaks in long-term care.

“It puts a strain on our health care system in the central Okanagan and throughout the interior, as we know Kelowna General [Hospital], for example, supports all health regions in the interior, ”said Henry.

The restrictions announced Friday apply to everyone in the central Okanagan, even if they and their group are fully vaccinated, health officials said.

“Right now, as we see a lot of transmission of a highly transmissible virus, we need to take action to protect everyone,” Henry said.

About 95% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in British Columbia as of Friday had not been vaccinated or had only received a single dose. Not all intensive care patients are vaccinated, Henry said.

The announcement will be

British Columbians aged 12 and over who have not yet been immunized can register in three ways:

People can also be vaccinated at walk-in clinics across the province.