Pay parking is suspended as of April 1 at B.C. hospitals and provincially owned health care facilities as the province continues to find ways to reduce transmission of COVID-19 coronavirus.
Health Minister Adrian Dix announced the measure March 30, to avoid keypads and payments that create an additional source of potential contamination. Health care workers who have parking charges deducted from their pay will also not have to pay during the emergency.
“In an effort to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, we are suspending pay parking for the patients, staff and visitors at all health-authority owned and operated sites, effective April 1 until further notice,” Dix said.
“This change makes it easier for individuals to avoid touching screens and buttons at payment kiosks that may have been touched by someone previously, and also supports physical distancing measures that have been mandated by our provincial health officer.”
Dix said free parking is being extended to health care staff as part of the province’s effort to support and protect them.
“Many health care workers, for example, pay off their paycheques for parking and so on, and those deductions will not occur, consistent with this policy change,” Dix said.
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B.C. received a shipment of one million surgical masks and is continuing to acquire personal protective equipment through as many alternative sources as can be located, he said.
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