Staffing up for reopening is tricky, COVID-wary businesses discover

June 2, 2021

Mario Miceli is watching the daily COVID-19 case counts a little nervously from his office at Vancouver’s Italian Cultural Centre these days, like a lot of people in the events and hospitality sector.

“It’s difficult to plan, because everything is predicated on a contingency” that COVID-19 infection rates and hospitalizations continue to decline as vaccinations increase, said Miceli, the centre’s executive director.

The province’s four-step restart plan unveiled Tuesday gives the centre a pathway to reopen its ballroom and event spaces to parties and receptions, at limited capacity, starting June 15, with increasing numbers and fewer restrictions on July 1, then again Sept. 7.

“My concern, of course, is we don’t see a blip right after the May long weekend, which has been a tradition throughout this COVID experience for us,” Miceli said, referring to long weekends, executive director of the centre.

Source: Vancouver Sun