Zeballos usually witnesses a surge in footfalls each summer as tourists flock to the village on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

The small community of 107 people is increasingly popular among travellers because of its picturesque offerings and wilderness recreation activities.

But travellers likely wonB次元官网网址檛 come this year.

B次元官网网址淭his year, there is not going to be a tourist season,B次元官网网址� says Dan OB次元官网网址機onnor the owner of a popular tourist hotel Cedars Inn.

With everything but essential services shut down in the village, OB次元官网网址機onnor and his wife Christina are also being cautious about their health with them being senior citizens. TheyB次元官网网址檝e cancelled reservations for bookings and have shut down the restaurant.

B次元官网网址淥ur biggest clientele is from Britain, naturally we had to cancel everything,B次元官网网址� added OB次元官网网址機onnor.

This hurdle comes in after the coastal village was besieged by a wildfire in 2018 and most of its properties were affected by an e.

The couple also owns a grocery store in the vicinity and although commodities are available, there has been a lot of logistical challenges. The store, designated as essential services is open and allows in only one customer at a time. They had to work around availability of products, often replacing them or switching wholesale retailers.

B次元官网网址淭he person who looks after the store is scared to work nowadays with this pandemic,B次元官网网址� says OB次元官网网址機onnor pointing out that the village has one medical clinic staffed by a nurse and a couple of visiting physicians.

The village is highly reliant on Telehealth services for their medical consultations. To avoid further strain on the limited medical resources, the village of Zeballos issued a notice earlier this month asking visitors not to travel to the community to minimize the spread of COVID-19. Everyone in the village has been following protocol, however, OB次元官网网址機onnor points out that there were still campers and trailers that came in during the easter break.

B次元官网网址淎ccess to the Ehatis reserve has been gated now and thereB次元官网网址檚 clear instructions prohibiting entry for non-residents, but people were still visiting over the weekend,B次元官网网址� he says.

On the other hand, with a small population and an even smaller business community, Zeballos is yet to witness any drastic impact yet says Meredith Starkey, Chief Administrative Officer of the village council.

B次元官网网址淪ince it is not yet tourist season, we havenB次元官网网址檛 been as impacted as I expected it to be in terms of the local economy,B次元官网网址� she said.

Most residents usually go to Port McNeill for a grocery run or order commodities online.

B次元官网网址淭he biggest impact here however,B次元官网网址� she added, B次元官网网址渋s the closure of schools. The school is our primary community contact for the people of this village and not having that forum has been hard on everyone.B次元官网网址�