British Columbia remains in the longest state of emergency the province has ever seen after a further extension on Tuesday.
The province has extended the provincial state of emergency for the 14th time on September 29 after the previous extension period ran out.
Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth initially declared a state of emergency on March 18 as a result of COVID-19, which was originally in effect for 14 days.
See also: 146 COVID-19 cases in reported over B.C. Day long weekend, no new deaths
It was then extended 13 times by Premier Horgan, on March 31, April 15, April 29, May 13th, May 27, June 10, June 24, July 7, July 22, August 4, August 18, September 1, and September 15.
Tuesday’s announcement further extends the state of emergency until the end of day on October 13, 2020.
The state of emergency allows the province to keep in place emergency measures like the ones that allow police officers to issue violation tickets for party hosts and guests that flaunt COVID-19 safety rules.
In the first week of these new enforcement measures (Aug. 21 -n28), 10 violation tickets were issued. This includes six $2,000 violation tickets for contraventions of the PHO’s order on gatherings and events, and four $200 violation tickets issued to individuals.
Declarations of emergency can be extended by the province by increments of 14 days at a time, under the Emergency Program Act.
The province is still in the midst of a spike in the number of daily cases, with over 100 new cases reported almost everyday in the past month.
A large portion of these have been attributed to private events, social gatherings, and workplace exposures.
