Premier John Horgan is defending B.C.’s decision to allow outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people at the same time that Ontario has declared a third wave of COVID-19.

During a press conference today, he acknowledged that a daily case load of about 500 to 550 is ‘disconcerting’. That, coupled with a slight increase in hospitalizations and growing variants of concern, Horgan admits he’s worried.

But he also says as more people become vaccinated, B.C. will see a reduction in case loads and hopefully a reduction in hospitalizations – leading to a further easing of restrictions.

As well, Horgan says he expects people in the province who get vaccinated will be able to participate in more activities as the restrictions are eased. But he says he’s not going to speculate on what limits could be put on people who have not yet received a dose of the vaccine.

“It really isn’t as simple as I’ve had a vaccine, I can go and do whatever I want,” said Horgan. “We need to make sure we are doing this in a methodical way.”

“Those who have been vaccinated will have a bit more flexibility of course because they are less risk to the people around them, and the people around them are less risk to them.”

Last week, Horgan said he supported the concept of vaccine passports to prove international travellers have had COVID-19 vaccines, but added he was lukewarm on similar certificates for use in the province and in Canada, to allow people to go to local sporting events and concerts.

Interior Health’s Interim Director of Clinical Operations, Carla Mantie, told NL News she’s hoping to have COVID-19 vaccine doses available to all adults who want one by the end of June, with second doses for people in the general public starting sometime in July.

B.C. reports 498 new COVID-19 cases, 31 in Interior Health

Health officials today reported 498 new cases of COVID-19 and four new deaths.

There were another 31 new cases in Interior Health, with 291 new cases in Fraser Health, 128 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health, 36 in Northern Health, and 12 in Island Health.

No data was released on variants of concern with health officials citing a lab sequencing issue. As of yesterday, there were 996 such cases in the province, with 130 of those cases currently active.

Active cases in B.C. were at 4,851 today, with 281 people in hospital, 83 in ICU. In Interior Health, there are 16 people in hospital with COVID-19, five in ICU. A further 9,472 people across B.C. are being actively monitored as a result of an identified exposure to someone with COVID-19.

Its been almost a week since B.C. eased restrictions to allow those outdoor gatherings, and health officials are reminding people to stay vigilant.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has meant that how we spend time with family and friends is different than what we did before. As we did last summer, it means using our layers of protection and always having safety top of mind, ” Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry said.

“If you choose to see others, then please connect safely, so you are not inadvertently increasing the risks to your loved ones or yourself. The key is to keep it small, to keep to the same group of people and to keep using your protective layers.

People are also being reminded to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day responsibly. WorkSafeBC has said it will have an increased presence at workplaces across the province today. Last week, Dr. Henry said the last call for alcohol sales at restaurants, pubs and liquor stores will be at 8 p.m. tonight, similar to how it was on New Year’s Eve.

B.C. is currently vaccinating seniors aged 80 years and older this week, with a plan to begin vaccinations for people in the 75-79-year age cohort in April. However, Dr. Henry has said its possible that even more people will be able to book their appointments earlier that first expected.

Vaccine clinics are underway in many communities, including Kamloops. Health officials say there have been 444,140 doses of a vaccine that has been administered in B.C., 87,093 of which are second doses.

There are 83,083 people who are now considered to have recovered from COVID-19, about 93 per cent of the total 89,427 cases in British Columbia.

– With files from The Canadian Press