There is "no opportunity" in provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry's mind for the limit of 50 people at events and gatherings to change anytime soon.
During Monday's press conference, Henry confirmed her team has received calls for reconsideration of the limit at gatherings, particularly from banquet halls and event-hosting facilities.
It follows the issuance of warnings and fines over the weekend to Surrey businesses for repeatedly breaking the province's COVID-19 health orders.
"We do know, and we've seen this, that there are situations where we know this virus is now being transmitted, and repeatedly.
"This is an unfortunate but necessary step to make sure those small number of people who are breaking the rules, despite being warned, despite putting people at risk, particularly in our own communities, our own families, that we have some tools we can use to support enforcement as well, so I think it's the right thing to do."
She says their main goal since the beginning of the pandemic has been to provide people and businesses with tools to do what is necessary, and supporting people "doing the right thing."
As part of this goal, limits have been imposed on restaurants and bars, AirBnB vacation properties and events or gatherings, to name a few.
Recently calls have risen from banquet halls wondering if the limit of 50 people per gathering can be lifted, should they be able to follow all the protocols and maintain physical distancing.
However, Henry says this rule won't change now, or in the near future, citing large parties and religious gatherings where outbreaks have occurred.
"We have had requests for reconsideration of the order around the number of people at events from the banquet community, and we've responded to them.
"It is like the events we have in every other situation. Right now, for consistency across the board, we are staying at 50."
She says they won't budge for a variety of reasons, including concerns around the implementation of physical distancing measures at venues, and the desire of public health officials to ensure follow up for potential exposures is quick.
"We need to continue to hold the line we're holding and that include for any event, whether it's in a banquet hall, whether it's in a church, whether it's in a restaurant or a bar.
"We know when there's more people than that the chances of someone coming in with the virus and potentially spreading it go up dramatically."
Minister of Health Adrian Dix echoed her comments, asking residents to bear in mind there could be more harsh measures in place right now.
"In British Columbia we don't have a lot of rules, but this is one of the main ones and I wouldn't expect any relaxation of it," says Dix.
"The answer is simply no - not because we don't understand the value of banquet halls and the services they provide - but these are especially the kind of events that we have to address right now."
