We understand that you may be concerned about the spread of COVID-19. We are, too. BC Ferries is committed to the health and safety of our customers and employees. When we learned of the outbreak, we took proactive measures to mitigate the spread of illness on our ferries and at our terminals. Crews have been taking, and will continue to take, extra measures to clean and disinfect all touch points.
Touch point cleaning focuses on common areas and locations that are touched frequently by people throughout the day. They include hard surfaces such as tables, handrails, payment pin pads, door handles, and elevator buttons. We have also stepped up our cleaning protocols in all washroom facilities.
BC Ferries regularly monitors information from the BC Centre for Disease Control and the Public Health Agency of Canada. At this time, the risk associated with the spread of COVID-19 in British Columbia and Canada is still considered low. We trust and follow instructions from Canada’s highest health officials and continue to monitor the situation closely.
In addition to the areas being addressed in the public areas, the statement made note of the oft asked question about self-isolation on board their vessels, noting that at the moment the regulation that all passengers on the enclosed decks are still required to exit the vehicle during crossings.
A number of customers have asked if it is possible to self-isolate while on board our ferries, specifically on enclosed vehicle decks. We have been in contact with Transport Canada to raise this issue.
Passengers situated on an open vehicle deck can remain in their vehicles however, for safety reasons, Transport Canada regulations do not permit passengers to remain in their vehicles on an enclosed vehicle deck.
On larger vessels that have both an upper and lower vehicle deck, customers are able to remain in their vehicles on the upper vehicle deck only.
Premier Horgan observed on Friday how that regulation was one of a number of issues he has raised with the Federal government, seeking a temporary waiver for that federally mandated regulation.
There was no specific mention for the two Northern routes of lengthy duration in the statement, with no information as to how BC Ferries would approach that issue, or what special measures might be required for journeys in and out of Prince Rupert that are significantly longer than the major crossings between the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.
You can review the full BC Ferries statement here.
A wider overview of Ferry related notes can be explored from our archive page here.
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