Search-and-rescue teams are pleading with British Columbians to stay out of the backcountry over the long weekend amid concerns about spreading COVID-19. “This sunny weather this weekend has got us worried a lot of people are going to start to wander out into the backwoods,” said Dwight Yochim, a senior manager with the B.C.
Search and Rescue Association. Yochim said, for the most part, B.C. residents have been heeding health officials’ calls to keep close to home, noting that call-outs have dropped about 50 per cent over the last two weeks.
Performing a rescue during the pandemic causes major headaches for crews, who typically see 20 to 30 people respond to a call-out, said Yochim. [ Sign up for our Health IQ newsletter for the latest