VANCOUVER—No one will be flying internationally or gathering in packed theatres, but if B.C.’s coronavirus fight stays on track, the province may start allowing families to get together for an ice cream cone by summertime.

As COVID-19 cases continue to grow in other parts of the country, B.C. on Friday became one of the first jurisdictions in Canada to offer a glimpse of a future loosened-lockdown scenario.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry released a detailed update on the progress of B.C.’s pandemic, which indicated that a stringent public health response has worked in B.C. to level off, then reduce, the number of coronavirus cases in the province.

“Our case rates are far below what could have been,” Henry said, comparing the growth of cases in the province to models of what would have happened if B.C. were experiencing an outbreak like the ones in Hubei, China or Italy.

“The difference (between) what could have been and what has happened is because of the measures we’ve taken collectively.”

Some restrictions will probably not be loosened until there is a vaccine for COVID-19, Henry said. That includes travel and the general rule to stay two metres apart from people outside your household.

The province has learned through Google data that “mixing” in British Columbia was down 70 per cent following public health restrictions on mass gatherings, and the closure of restaurants and other public spaces.

Henry said it’s far too soon to expect a full return to normal.

“If we go back to what used to be normal, we would expect to see a dramatic exponential increase,” she said, citing the province’s modelling. “We need to find that balance between opening up our economy and maintaining the restrictions that we have in place.”

She said teams of public health professionals are contemplating a variety of strategies to gradually reopen society and the economy.

Businesses that could maintain social distancing could open again, Henry suggested, and workplaces and schools may begin running on rotating schedules that allow participants to keep their distance from one another while attending.

The province is also looking to reintroduce scheduled surgeries by mid May.

B.C. is able to contemplate loosening these restrictions even as coronavirus cases continue to grow elsewhere — especially Ontario and Quebec.

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Even though B.C.’s coronavirus pandemic began earlier than it did in many other parts of the country, the province benefited from implementing stringent distancing rules earlier on and adopting a wide testing strategy that has helped public health officials contain the virus.

Timing has also played a role. Henry noted that Quebec struggled with a large number of imported cases from places such as France, where many Quebec residents had visited over that province’s break in early March. B.C.’s March break took place in the middle of the month, after travel restrictions were already in place.