thousand cases three times last week as more pharmacies administer the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to people between the ages of 55 and 65. That stream is running parallel to another that’s currently vaccinating people in their early 70s as well as Indigenous people over 18 and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable. On Saturday another record breaking number of cases hit the province, 1,072 people have tested positive for the virus. On Friday, 1,018 new cases were recorded. Prior to this weekend, the daily record was 1,013 — set on March 31. Most of the 2,090 new cases are concentrated in the Lower Mainland with 1,052 new cases in the Fraser Health region
B-C’s public safety minister is promising consequences for businesses flouting provincial health orders against indoor dining as COVID-19 cases hit record highs. Mike Farnworth issued the warning after at least two Vancouver restaurants were served with closure notices in keeping with restrictions that will continue at least until April 19th. He says harassment of enforcement officers will not be tolerated and closure orders by Vancouver Coastal Health or any other health authority must be respected. The owner of a Vancouver restaurant that was packed with
customers on Saturday when it was served with a closure notice says in an online post that she closed her doors for two days after running out of food but would reopen tomorrow.
There has been a cougar sighting in surrey, Last week a cougar entered the parkade of a condo building near 196 Street and 64 Avenue, just a block away from the Willowbrook Mall. The building is technically in the City of Surrey, but it’s on the border with Langley. It’s a highly developed area, far from the mountains and forests that cougars typically call home. 1 residents of the building spotted the cougar and posted about it in the building’s private Facebook group last week. One of the member of the building’s strata council then said , he has access to the security cameras, so he went looking for evidence of the big cat. Sure enough, the video, shows the cougar strolling down the ramp into the building’s underground parking area. Cougars have attacked several pets in the Tri-Cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody over the last few months. In March, the BC Conservation Officer Service captured and killed three different big cats that, according to conservation officers, had lost their fear of humans. Cougar sightings in Langley and Surrey are rare, but not unheard of, since cougars hunt deer and deer sometimes wander into urban areas. Conservation officers remind anyone who spots a cougar to report the sighting by calling the province’s Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP) line
After a record-breaking long weekend for daily COVID-19 cases in B.C., the province’s health minister is frustrated with the behavior of people ignoring restrictions and public health orders. B.C.’s daily counts topped 1,000 both for the time periods between Thursday to Friday, and Friday to Saturday. The expectation is that trend will likely have continued into this week, with concerns raised about variants, how younger people are being affected, and the increasing pressure on hospitals. One doctor’s tweets went viral over the weekend, with Dr. Kevin Mcleod saying young people are landing in the hospital in serious situations, warning B.C.’s problem could get significantly worse. Health Minister Adrian Dix said on Sunday the province has some tough restrictions — but people need to follow them. On Saturday another record breaking number of cases hit the province, 1,072 people have tested positive for the virus. On Friday, 1,018 new cases were recorded. Prior to this weekend, the daily record was 1,013 — set on March 31. Most of the 2,090 new cases are concentrated in the Lower Mainland with 1,052 new cases in the Fraser Health region
B-C Ferries has indefinitely cancelled four round-trips — a total of eight sailings — between Tsawwassen and Duke Point in Nanaimo starting tomorrow morning due to mechanical issues with the Queen of New Westminster. It says in a release the cancelled sailings start at 5:15 a.m. from Tsawwassen. B-C Ferries says the ship has a problem with a propeller and that the Coastal Inspiration will offer eight daily sailings between the two terminals but customers with reservations on the Queen of New Westminster’s cancelled sailings will be contacted regarding the status of their bookings. It’s recommending commuters get the latest sailing and departure information online.
A total of 16 Vancouver Canucks on the team’s active roster of 22 players are now on the N-H-L’s protocol list for COVID-19 as cases surge in B-C. Forward Marc Michaelis and defenceman Jalen Chatfield were the latest additions yesterday, and that’s making players and coaches elsewhere in the all-Canadian North Division uneasy for their own teams, as well as the Canucks. Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid says his team hopes the Vancouver players get healthy as soon as possible and that their families are O-K. The Canucks have had four games postponed already because of the virus. Being on the protocol list doesn’t necessarily mean a player has tested positive for COVID-19, but the league requires individuals with positive tests to self-isolate for 10 days, and for close contacts to self-isolate for two weeks
BC has reported 4,040 new COVID-19 cases and 23 new deaths over the Easter long weekend as we now have entered Phase 3 of the COVID-19 vaccination plan and a statement from the premier’s office says all eligible adults will soon be able to book an immunization online. The statement says the “easy, three-step process” starts tomorrow and allows those eligible to register and book online — a service that has only been open to residents of the Fraser Health Authority until now. In person and telephone bookings are also possible and the statement says — starting tomorrow at 8 a.m. — anyone born in 1950 and earlier, Indigenous people 18 and older, and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable may register with the ‘Get Vaccinated’ system — online, toll-free or at a Service B-C location. Premier John Horgan says the new process marks a “major milestone” and he urges everyone to wait until their age range is announced and then work quickly to set a time for the COVID-19 jab.
The City of Vancouver says it has suspended the licences of two restaurants for defying tighter COVID-19 restrictions announced last week. The city says it took the step after Vancouver Coastal Health issued closure orders for Gusto and Corduroy Lounge for failing to comply with public health orders banning inside dining. The suspensions will remain in place until April 20th after a three-week “circuit breaker” aimed at addressing a third wave of COVID-19 is set to expire. Mayor Kennedy Stewart says in a statement that the entire country was aghast at the behaviour of the restaurant owners in the face of rising case counts and the spread of variants.
A Surrey woman was arrested in Alberta last month on fraud charges after allegedly selling people fake travel vouchers. Alexandra Beckow from Clayton Heights was arrested in Surrey March 18 after a nearly two-year investigation by the Airdrie RCMP. “The victims reported they had purchased travel vouchers from Beckow or had fraudulent charges on their credit cards,” RCMP said in a press release.
COVID-19 vaccine selfies are popping up on social media feeds as more Canadians roll up their sleeves and get jabbed. Experts say the selfies can encourage others to overcome their vaccine hesitancy and can be a powerful tool to combat online misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine. But some say the pictures may make anyone who hasn’t been able to book an appointment jealous.