VICTORIA -- Quadra Island has joined the communities of Tofino and Ucluelet in asking visitors to stay away amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Electoral Area C Regional District, Discovery Islands Chamber of Commerce and the We Wai Kai First Nation all ask that tourists avoid trips to the community as the region has limited health care resources and is home to residents that are considered vulnerable to the novel coronavirus.
“Quadra Island is a small community with limited resources and its share of vulnerable residents,” said Jim Abram, director for the Discovery Islands-Mainland inlets in an announcement Friday.
“Like other small destinations we are at special risk of exposure from people who may unknowingly travel with the infection.”
“Our community is asking anyone thinking of visiting Quadra, for discretionary reasons, reconsider and make plans to come at a safer time when we look forward to welcoming our visitors back,” said Abram.
Quadra Island notes that tourism organization Destination BC temporarily suspended all domestic and international marketing campaigns, which the region took as a signal to scale down the local tourism industry.
The island’s decision to close its community to travellers comes one day after the west Vancouver Island town of Ucluelet made the same request.
One day before that, on Wednesday, Tofino called for all current tourists to leave the community and asked that upcoming visitors postpone their trip until the COVID-19 pandemic subsided.
