Federal and provincial health authorities have called upon Canadians to refrain from non-essential travel out of the country

B.C. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has called on B.C. residents to stay in Canada and to not travel abroad or to the U.S. unless it’s deemed essential. Henry issued the voluntary order on Thursday during a daily coronavirus briefing held with B.C. Minister of Health Adrian Dix in Vancouver. Henry reiterated the order during Friday’s briefing while announcing that the province had 11 new cases of Covid-19 bringing the total to 64 cases.

Dix specifically mentioned that shopping trips to Bellingham were ill-advised and strongly suggested that those doing so should self-isolate for two weeks on their return. While he did not mention Point Roberts, residents and business owners have expressed concern about the impact of his comments on the community.

As a provincial minister, Dix has no authority over the border and, in any event, the recommendation not to cross the border is simply that, a recommendation. Travelers can choose to voluntarily comply or not.

In Ottawa, Canada’s top public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, advised Canadians to reconsider their vacation plans. “My advice is to postpone or cancel all non-essential travel outside of Canada. By making the choice to stay at home and not travel outside of Canada, you are protecting yourself, your family and doing your part to slow the spread of the virus.” Tam told Canadians that there were now 157 cases of the illness in the country.

The Canadian government is restricting international flights to three as yet un-named airports and is barring cruise ships with more than 500 passengers from docking in Canada until later in the summer.

Henry also made mandatory an earlier recommendation canceling all public gatherings in B.C. with more than 250 people. That includes concerts, churches and public spaces. Making it mandatory allows organizers to seek relief from insurance carriers.

The order not to travel outside the country does not apply to truckers and other personnel involved in transporting goods or people, Henry said. This kind of travel is deemed essential, but she said individuals and companies involved in cross-border transportation should implement health monitoring regimes to ensure they are virus-free. Henry added that the virus doesn’t appear to transmit as well outside and advised residents to “Go outside and play with your family. Go ski. Go up to Whistler.”

Five of the cases announced on Friday involve travel from Iran, Egypt, Mexico and the Philippines while three others were administrators at Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver. None of those had any contact with patients and are being investigated to determine how they contracted the disease.

To date, B.C. has tested 6,326 individuals of which around 4,300 were tested in the last week. Of the 64 positive cases, six have recovered and one has died. The case mortality rate is 1.5 percent. This compares to 6,569 individuals tested in Washington state with 568 positive cases and 37 deaths for a case mortality rate of 6.5 percent. Most of the deaths in the state involved an outbreak in an assisted living facility in King County.

There are no cases of Covid-19 in Point Roberts and, so far, just one in Whatcom County. The patient, a woman in her 60s, was treated at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center and released into self-quarantine. There are 19 people awaiting test results in the county; 18 were previously returned as negative.