iN PHOTOS: Pictures taken a year apart show changed response to pandemic

A year ago B.C. was in a deep lockdown. Most stores and restaurants were closed, leaving highways and shopping malls virtually deserted.

On April 7, 2020, iNFOnews.ca sent its reporters out into that empty world to show readers what they were not seeing from the safety of their homes.

On that day, B.C. recorded 25 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the provincial total to 1,291.

Also on that day, no new cases were recorded in the Interior Health region, the third consecutive day that had happened. There had been a total of 128 COVID cases in the region at that time.

Fast forward to 2021 when 997 new cases were recorded in B.C. on April 7 this year, bringing the provincial total to 106,985.

The Interior Health region registered 117 new cases on April 7, 2021, for a total of 9,083 to date.

Yet, the world is greatly changed. People are driving around, going shopping and patronizing restaurants with outdoor patios. The province is also nearing one million doses of vaccines being injected into residents’ arms.

This is how Kamloops and the Okanagan looked then and now.

The Bennett Bridge crossing Okanagan Lake was virtually deserted at the start of rush hour then. It's still not jammed tight now but it's definitely busier.

A similar comparison can be seen at one the city’s major intersections, where Highways 97 and 33 intersect.

Highway 97, known as Harvey Avenue in some parts of Kelowna, was almost deserted on March 22 last year, a normally busy Sunday afternoon. On April 7 this year, a Wednesday, it showed a dramatic increase in traffic as seen from the pedestrian overpass linking the Landmark Centre to Parkinson Recreation Centre.

Downtown Vernon at 30 Avenue was totally deserted in 2020 and showing much more life in 2021.

A similar change can be seen on Lansdowne Street in downtown Kamloops.

Victoria Street in downtown Kamloops has also come back to life despite the higher COVID case counts.

The Capri Centre Mall parking lot in Kelowna is crowded now, compared to a year ago.

Similarly, life has returned to the Village Green Mall in Vernon.

Back in Kamloops, Aberdeen Mall showed some activity in 2020 but nothing compared to what can be seen there today.

The Winners parking lot in Penticton was totally deserted in 2020 but showing much more life in 2021.

Kelowna’s Orchard Park Mall had a few stores that remained open during the lockdown. Best Buy, with its outside entrance, had people lining up and safe distancing last April but no such lineups existed in 2021.

Parkades in downtown Kelowna, like this one next to the city’s library, are much busier today, although there was plenty of empty space this year and the upper, outdoor floor was roped off.

In 2020, Costco in Kelowna drew huge crowds that lined up well past the end of the store in 2020.

This year, there was very little wait to get into the store, although the parking lot was completely full with vehicles lined up waiting for shoppers to unload their heaping shopping carts and drive off so they could take their spots.

See last year’s story here.

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