VICTORIA -- With the May long weekend upon us and circuit breaker restrictions still in effect, it appears people are playing by the rules.
"We felt it was better to stay very local," said Lisa McNeill, a resident of Brentwood.
"I’ll be weeding, I’ll be sitting in the sun and I’ll be having a glass of wine at 5 o’clock," said Margot Swinburnson, a resident of Sooke.
With those people staying local, that’s good news for Paul Kingston, who owns food truck Molly’s Fish and Chips. Today he was setup on the Esquimalt Lagoon in Colwood.
"With a lot of people not travelling, not going off the island, I’m expecting it to be extremely busy," said Kingston.
With the province's vaccine rollout ramping up, Lindsey Melvin has a very good reason to stay local.
"That’s my big plan this weekend, I’m getting my vaccine on Sunday," said Melvin, a Vancouver Island resident.
It’s because of those vaccines and a drop in B.C.’s daily COVID-19 counts, that Premier John Horgan alluded to a big announcement coming after the long weekend.
"They can expect on Tuesday that the circuit breaker will be over and a roadmap will be laid out for all British Columbians to see,” said Horgan on Thursday.
Those circuit breaker restrictions have been particularly hard on restaurants, as they ban indoor dining. The BC Restaurant and Food Services Association is optimistic that the premier's words mean a return to limited indoor dining.
"If a restaurant wants to open for breakfast Tuesday morning, by all means they can do that in our estimation," said Ian Tostesten, president and CEO of the BC Restaurant and Food Services Association.
Meanwhlie, things have been quiet aboard BC Ferries ahead of the long weekend.
"Historically speaking, the May long weekend would be a really popular travel weekend for us," said Tessa Humphries, communications manager with BC Ferries.
But that's not the case this weekend. BC Ferries will continue to restrict travel to essential service only over the long weekend but is looking forward to hearing what the province will say come Tuesday.
"We’re awaiting an announcement from the province on further details of what the future looks like over the next few weeks," said Humphries. "We are going to do everything we can to support to the province and what they come out with."
Whether that announcement will lift the restrictions on the ban of non-essential travel between health authorities is unknown, but for now people are staying close to home and are optimistic that we are in a good position heading into the summer.
"Hopefully we’ll see that the circuit breaker has done it’s job – and because numbers are lower and people are immunized," said McNeill. "I’m seven-months pregnant and got my immunization two weeks ago and I’ve just booked my 12-year old and 13-year old in to get theirs next week."
"Everything seems to be coming together so hopefully if we all do our part, we can have a good summer."
The circuit breaker is set to expire at 12 a.m. on Tuesday.
