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VANCOUVER — The provincial health officer warned British Columbians on Saturday that big weddings and events likely won’t be on their calendars this summer, even if restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are eased one month from now.

Dr. Bonnie Henry said people need to “think small” and start planning how to celebrate important milestones in ways that will allow for physical distancing, including virtually or with a reduced number of attendees.

“Realistically, we will not be having those big events where people gather together this summer,” she said during her daily news conference, where she reported 29 new cases of COVID-19 and three more deaths.

“That is a much riskier prospect than ever before. We do not have enough herd immunity or community immunity to protect everybody and allow that type of event to happen. So I think we’ll see be seeing, globally, those types of events — large parades, large mass gatherings where we all come together — those will not be happening this summer.”

On Friday, Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said the province could begin easing some restrictions by mid-May if people continue to keep the spread of the novel coronavirus in check.

But information from computer modelling done by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, with the assistance of the University of B.C. and Simon Fraser University, suggested that if the province relaxes extraordinary restrictions too early or too much, there could be a surge in COVID-19 cases.

On Saturday, Henry said that a “new normal” if restrictions were lifted mid-May would still require people to clean their hands, stay home when sick, cough into their sleeves and maintain physical distancing.

Restrictions would be eased in gradually in a way that finds a “sweet spot” that balances our need to connect with loved ones while protecting vulnerable people and not overwhelming our hospitals, Henry said.

“We took very quick action to get us into this but we don’t want all of the sacrifices that we have been doing across the province to be for naught,” she said.

Henry reiterated that COVID-19 has a two-week incubation period, so health care workers haven’t yet seen the effects of people coming together over the Easter long weekend, for example.

B.C. has had a total of 1,647 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 81 deaths. The three most recent deaths were all at long-term care facilities.

There are currently 115 people in hospital, including 54 in critical care. Henry said 987 people are now considered fully recovered.

Henry said there are still outbreaks at 20 long-term care and assisted living facilities, and one in an acute care facility. There are a total 288 cases within the long-term care and assisted living system, she said.

An outbreak at the Mission Institution now affects 70 people, including 60 inmates.

Ninety-seven people in the Island Health region have tested positive for COVID-19 and three people have died.

Henry said business operators should consider how to reopen while maintaining physical distancing, including by increasing their online presence and allowing people to visit shops to pick up goods outside.

“I think there’s lots of things that we can do to gradually increase the opening of our businesses with the understanding that we are going to have to take precautions over the next year, maybe longer,” she said.

That will include making sure people can wash their hands, allowing staff to stay home if they feel sick, keeping employees and customers at least two metres apart, and holding more meetings online, she said.

“We really are in a hurricane, in a major storm,” Henry said.

“But we have made considerable progress in our province and it is because of what everybody has done together. We have listened to the orders and the restrictions that we’ve put in place.”

— With a file from the Times Colonist