Provincial health officer Dr Bonnie Henry has been the calm, reassuring and authoritative voice of the Covid-19 pandemic in British Columbia. Her near-daily press conferences (with BC health minister Adrian Dix) have become essential viewing, and have earned her a Twitter fan club with more than 7,000 followers, and supporters who literally sing her praises online. “Dear Dr Bonnie” (based on “Dear Theodosia” from Broadway’s Hamilton ) includes lyrics such as “you will lead us through self-isolation, we’ll work from home for you, order in our groceries too”. But not all of her actions and inactions have been universally praised, with the most notable discord in the choir coming from Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. Because despite Henry’s repeated urging that British Columbians should stay at home and socially isolate themselves to slow down the coronavirus outbreak, the behaviour of a minority of Vancouverites, in particular, became a national embarrassment, as they gathered on Kitsilano Beach to watch the sunset, picnicked and played basketball and soccer in public parks. The scenes last week alarmed Dr Gerald Da Roza, head of medicine at Royal Columbian. Writing directly to Henry on behalf of staff on Friday, Da Roza called for tougher containment measures and more education to curb the disease. Close non-essential businesses. Actually enforce social distancing instructions, or close parks. Shut the beaches. They’re playing beer pong. I can’t. I just. I can’t. #COVIDIOTS #COVIDVancouver #vancouver #covid19 pic.twitter.com/lPl138WEE3 — Farhan Mohamed (@farhanmohamed) March 22, 2020 “BC is following the same trajectory that Italy did,” he warned. “We need to act quickly and decisively … Public parks and beaches must enforce social distancing or shutdowns given the number of people gathering closely in these areas … These measures are critical to reduce the spread of cases in the community.” Otherwise, he said, hospital services might go the way of Italy, where doctors had to triage patients in need of intensive-care treatment, based on age and risk profile. BC on Tuesday reported 145 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the province’s total to 617 infections. Coronavirus: Go home Vancouver. Social distancing is not a party “Please do not force us to implement similar policies here as our hospitals become overrun,” Da Roza said. “A community lockdown may seem drastic, but experiences throughout the rest of the world clearly demonstrate how critical it is to act decisively and urgently.” Da Roza added: “We urge you to implement these measures now so that we stand a fighting chance. Together, we can help prevent hundreds or even thousands of unnecessary deaths.” Problem: Some people are idiots None of this is to criticise the overall, urgent message from Henry that the best way to fight Covid-19 is to simply stay home. Nor does it even contradict her sub-message that it is acceptable to take the occasional walk outside – so long as we physically distance ourselves by two metres from those outside our households. But Vancouverites have plenty of places to walk, around deserted side streets and beyond. So why are Vancouver’s parks and beaches – where people tend to congregate – still open? After the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday how people were gathering at Kitsilano Beach in the late afternoon, Henry on Friday and Saturday specifically told British Columbians they should not be going to the beach to watch the sunset. Kits Beach yesterday & day before. Young people hanging out in groups. One group of teens shared a joint. Others played beach volleyball & basketball. What on earth are they thinking? I did my best to stay 6ft away from others on my run but clueless people kept invading my space pic.twitter.com/NTSvWyRqCQ — Elvira Lount (@elviralount) March 20, 2020 I suspect that the beaches having been quiet since Sunday is less a testament to Henry’s powers of persuasion than it is about the weather. Never has a damp and miserable start to Vancouver’s spring been so welcome. May it hail every sunset. But you can bet that as soon as the sunshine returns, even landmines won’t deter some people from gathering at Kits Beach at sundown, so long as it remains open. Hong Kong skiers return from Whistler and Vancouver infected with Covid-19 Vancouver’s parks staff have instead taken the grandly passive-aggressive approach of removing the logs that people sit on at beaches, and closing car parks. Simply shutting the beaches or parks would be a “very dramatic step”, parks board general manager Malcolm Bromley said, and one that had not been contemplated, as of Sunday. But if now is not the time for “dramatic” measures, when? @ParkBoard staff removing logs from beaches to discourage sitting close to others. Please help us keep beaches safe and open. #Covid19 #socialdistancing pic.twitter.com/fhfAxwIqjb — malcolm bromley (@vanparkGM) March 22, 2020 Yes, it would be better for all if parks and beaches and everywhere else could stay open to users diligent about physical distancing, and aware of the life-and-death stakes. Unfortunately, a significant portion of the population is made up of idiots, of the type who gathered on a downtown Vancouver rooftop on Saturday to party and play beer pong, in a scene captured by Farhan Mohamed, editor of the local Daily Hive site. Yes, beer pong, as in, the drinking game in which players bounce a ping pong ball into a cup and opponents must chug the contents. You might as well be licking doorknobs. If only we were all as immune to coronavirus, as Vancouver’s Covidiots have been to common sense and the welfare of their community. It’s not just Vancouver, of course. According to a survey released by Research Co on the weekend, 30 per cent of Canadians (including 26 per cent of British Columbians) believe it is “reasonable” to hold a gathering of up to 10 people at this time. The survey, conducted last Thursday and Friday, came in spite of a deluge of messaging from all levels of government that people needed, most of all, to stay home and socially isolate to slow the pandemic’s progress. Canada shutting borders to non-citizens and non-residents Frustration is growing. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (who has himself resisted calls to institute a national state of emergency) has referenced and scolded the scofflaws and their apparent fearlessness. “We've all seen the pictures online of people who think they are invincible,” he said on Monday. “Well, you're not. Enough is enough. Go home and stay home.” "Enough is enough. Go home and stay home," says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. #covid19 pic.twitter.com/hTCc7Tyfix — Michel Boyer (@BoyerMichel) March 23, 2020 And Vancouver city hall now has the power to act against those who defy physical-distancing instructions issued by Henry, in the form of C$1,000 fines against individuals, and C$50,000 fines against businesses. And yet, Vancouver’s parks and other high-traffic public areas remain open. Calm and reassuring have had their time. Maybe it’s time the covidiots felt some fear and forcefulness, both in relation to Vancouver’s parks and beaches and the pandemic party in general. Forcefulness doesn’t have to mean physical intervention. But failing to come up with another way to convince people not to congregate will surely herald a hardline approach. Before it gets to that stage, simply close the parks and beaches, as suggested by Royal Columbian’s Dr Da Roza, and get tougher with containing this monster. And the fear? For the recalcitrants, it shouldn’t just be fear of being caught defying coronavirus precautions, nor being shamed on social media. It should be fear of the potentially deadly consequences, for themselves and the community. The Hongcouver blog is devoted to the hybrid culture of its namesake cities: Hong Kong and Vancouver. All story ideas and comments are welcome. Connect with me by email at ian.young@scmp.com or on Twitter, @ianjamesyoung70. Purchase the China AI Report 2020 brought to you by SCMP Research and enjoy a 20% discount (original price US$400). This 60-page all new intelligence report gives you first-hand insights and analysis into the latest industry developments and intelligence about China AI. Get exclusive access to our webinars for continuous learning, and interact with China AI executives in live Q&A. Offer valid until 31 March 2020.