When you think of Family Day, you often think of a day on the slopes, and the Premier says that is still a safe activity.

“That is perhaps among the safest things you can do with your mask on and your helmet on, swooshing down the hill, clearing your head, getting physical activity, being emotionally recharged,” John Horgan said during a media briefing yesterday.

“The challenge is, after you come down the hill, what do you do from there.”

Horgan says its the gatherings after a day on the slopes that had led to a spike in COVID cases in resort towns like Whistler, Big White, and Revelstoke.

“The après ski activity is where we’re seeing an increase in cases. Once you’ve had your ski, go home, it’s as simple as that. If we can reduce the transmission that’s happening off the hill, I think we’ll be in a much better place,” Horgan said.

The Canada West Ski Areas Association has been working with government and community stakeholders to avoid getting shut down by the province’s top doctor, Dr. Bonnie Henry.

Since the beginning of this year, Whistler has seen a whopping 614 cases of COVID-19, most of which have been people in their 20s and 30s who live, work, and socialize together. Meanwhile, there have been a total of 235 COVID-19 cases connected to a cluster at Big White Ski Resort, with 20 cases active as of the latest update.

The Mayor of Sun Peaks, Al Raine, told NL News his resort community near Kamloops hasn’t seen a COVID-19 outbreak to the scale of Whistler or Big White because of ‘good luck and good management’.