Canada's largest ferry company BC Ferries launched a series of priority cargo sailings to ensure the shipping of essential goods on the route between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland region amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The cargo voyages are planned between the BC homeports Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay, with departures Monday through Friday until May 15, 2020. They will carry a maximum of 84 passengers and will depart from Tsawwassen (at 3 PM) and from Swartz Bay (at 5 PM). The crossings will prioritize commercial vehicles that transport goods. Service workers will be embarked on a first-come-first-served basis.
Based on availability (after the boarding of essential service workers and commercial vehicles), other passengers and vehicles might then be also loaded on.
In a statement, BC Ferries said that the company continues “to monitor commercial traffic and the need for additional sailings.”
“The company is taking steps to protect the health and safety of communities and our crew, match service levels to current demand and ensure the resiliency of coastal ferry service.”
For Coronavirus updates on cruise ship quarantines (infected passengers and crew) and top-pandemic countries (COVID-19 cases and deaths, daily updated statistics) see at CruiseMapper's Norovirus page.