In a matter of days, casinos and nightclubs in British Columbia may be able to re-open their doors to patrons as the province moves toward Stage 3 in the re-opening plan.
This includes View Royal’s own Elements Casino located at 1708 Island Highway.
Elements Casino, along with all casinos and community gaming centres in BC have been closed since March 2020 after a direct provincial order was implemented to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Sixteen months later, casinos and nightclubs are finally set to re-open to the public, pending the go ahead of the next stage in BC’s restart plan.
Casinos and community gaming centres will operate at a reduced capacity and include sanitizing stations and physical barriers, such as plexiglass, to ensure the health and safety of both patrons and GameSense Advisors.
GameSense Advisors are BCLC’s player-health specialists, who staff GameSense Information Centres within casinos and community gaming centres in British Columbia. Moving toward Step 3 in BC’s Restart Plan means nightclubs are also slated to re-open, which have been shuttered since September 2020.
Nightclub closures were ordered by Dr. Bonnie Henry after spikes in cases were linked to establishments where alcohol is sold, and the health orders at that time also included a 10 p.m. cut-off for alcohol sales at bars and restaurants.
Step 3 includes liquor service restrictions lifted, as well as nightclubs being allowed to operate with a limited capacity.
The earliest date the province can move to Step 3 is July 1st.
