The Capital Regional District says the Jordan River Regional Park Campground is now closed until further notice as the district cannot meet the contact tracing requirements laid out in a recent public health order.
Jordan River Regional Park Campground is closed until further notice. The CRD cannot meet the contact tracing requirements as laid out in recent the public health order. For updated information on the CRD’s response to COVID-19, please visit https://t.co/nTomrtIpmx.
— CRD (@crd_bc) November 18, 2020
The Jordan River Regional Park campground is typically open year-round on a first-come, first-served basis, with no online or phone registration. It is located in Jordan River Regional Park, a 187 hectare mixed coastal forest park along the Juan de Fuca Strait.
On Nov.13, Island Health’s Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Richard Stanwick, issued a Public Health Order stating all owners and operators of campgrounds and RV parks must collect information from each patron that would enable contact tracing, including names and phone numbers.
This information must be kept for a period of 30 days.
“We need to do everything we can to slow the transmission of COVID-19 and we know effective contact tracing plays a significant role,” Dr. Stanwick said in a statement last week.
Earlier Wednesday, British Columbia Premier John Horgan said he will lobby Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to work with the provinces on developing a national travel plan to fight the spread of COVID-19.
Horgan says he wants to see the same travel rules for Canadians regardless of where they live in the country.
He says the connection between travel and the spread of COVID-19 needs leadership from the prime minister.
Horgan says he intends to bring up his proposal at this week’s regular meeting of the prime minister and premiers.
He says he understands Canadians cannot be prevented from travelling throughout the country, but he wants a national effort to stress that travel during this stage of the pandemic should be on an essential basis only.
Horgan says COVID-19 cases have been increasing across B.C. in recent weeks and he suggested that more provincial health restrictions to limit contacts between people are coming later this week.
With files from The Canadian Press
CHEK News
