An online petition seeking to limit access to Vancouver Island during the COVID-19 outbreak continues to gain momentum despite a dramatic drop in B.C. Ferries traffic.
By Monday morning, more than 37,000 people had signed the change.org document that calls for tougher restrictions on travel.
“B.C. Ferries should be limited to essential services and implement restricted access for residents who are trying to return home to their families,” the petition states.
“This needs to work both ways ... residents from Vancouver Island shouldn’t be travelling to the mainland if it’s not essential.”
The petition picked up steam over the Easter long weekend amid a flurry of social media posts that raised concerns about traffic on B.C. Ferries.
Nanaimo-Ladysmith MP Paul Manly of the Green Party joined the fray, writing a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and B.C. Premier John Horgan asking for an order requiring B.C. Ferries to immediately restrict all non-essential travel on all routes.
“There can be no justification for a rise in ferry ridership during a long weekend in a public health emergency,” Manly wrote. “This can no longer just be a request for people to stay home. The government needs to restrict travel and enforce that restriction.”
B.C. Ferries reported a nearly 80 per cent drop in the number of passengers even before Transport Canada introduced regulations last week requiring ferry operators to cap vessel passenger capacity at 50 per cent of what’s usually allowed.
“It’s certainly not a normal long weekend,” B.C. Ferries’ spokeswoman Deborah Marshall told the Times Colonist on Saturday. “I think a lot of people have got the point: Don’t travel if you don’t need to.”
And provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said she was heartened that most people were following the recommendation to stay home and avoid non-essential travel.
“I know that most people are doing the right thing … so I don’t believe there is a need for stepped up enforcement, or lockdowns or any of those types of measures,” she said.
