Powell River seeks exemption from new COVID-19 restrictions

The City of Powell River on the Sunshine Coast might be two ferry rides away from the Lower Mainland, but it's still subject to the same strict COVID-19 health restrictions as Vancouver and the Fraser Valley because it is part of the Vancouver Coastal Health region. 

Dave Formosa, the mayor of Powell River, says he wants an exemption for his city from the restrictions.

"We are totally isolated from the Lower Mainland and the Lower Sunshine Coast. We're all by ourselves over here and we're doing very, very well," said Formosa on CBC's All Points West. 

On Saturday, during a rare weekend appearance, B.C.'s Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix announced a series of new restrictions for residents of the Lower Mainland for the next two weeks in a bid to slow the sharp increase in COVID-19 cases.

There was some initial confusion over whether Powell River was included in the restrictions, as some iterations of the order had the city exempt. Currently, the only exempt areas in the two health authorities are the community of Bella Coola and the Central Coast.

The restrictions include a directive not to socialize with anyone outside of their immediate household. Businesses and recreation centres that operate indoor group physical activities have been told to suspend these activities. Travel to and from the region is greatly discouraged. 

Formosa says this presents a major problem to many citizens in his city who travel frequently to Vancouver Island. 

"Vancouver Island is just a hop over the puddle and lots of folks head over there on weekends and weekdays to get different things," he said. "I've had a number of people tell me now they're upset they can't go."

One of the immediate impacts was the cancellation of several B.C. Hockey League games, including one scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Duncan between the Powell River Kings and the Cowichan Valley Capitals. 

Chad Van Diemen, the general manager of the hockey team the Powell River Kings, says his team was looking forward to Sunday's game which would have been its first of the season.

"We were pretty excited and then this news came out and Saturday was an emotional day," said Van Diemen. 

Formosa says he's going to be asking Health Minister Adrian Dix for an exemption and says NDP MLA Nicholas Simons will be doing the same.

"He's a very busy guy," Formosa said of Dix. "[But] it would make a lot of sense to be exempted here. Whether he wants to have that conversation with Dr. Henry or not, I don't know."

The restrictions are currently set to end on Nov. 23 at noon.