Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is reporting a record 46 deaths over the past three days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Henry says that brings the total in the province to 441 with most of the latest deaths among residents in long-term care. She says two-thousand-364 new cases of COVID-19 were reported over the past three days — including 277 historical cases due to a problem with lab reporting last week in the Fraser Health region. Henry says the province now has eight-thousand-855 active cases, with 316 people in hospital including 75 in intensive care.
A man was killed in a shooting at a busy shopping complex in the Fleetwood area last night. It happened just before 8 in front of the Shoppers Drug Mart at Fraser Highway and 152nd. The man was pronounced dead at the scene…The victim was known to police and they believe this was a targeted hit. At this point, no one has been arrested but police are asking for witnesses
Teachers, parents and students are preparing for a return to the classroom at a Surrey school, closed earlier this month due to a COVID-19 outbreak. Cambridge Elementary was closed for two weeks on Nov. 14 after at least seven cases, including at least one teacher, were confirmed. With the reopening coming just days after Surrey’s latest school outbreak, the president of the school’s parent advisory committee and mother of two students, says everyone is anxious. Many parents are planning on keeping their kids at home until after the winter break
Moderna is seeking emergency approval from European and American regulators for its COVID-19 vaccine, after final analysis of its Phase 3 clinical trial showed it to be 94.1 per cent effective. A hearing will be held in the U-S on December 17th for possible approval — one week after the hearing for Pfizer’s vaccine. Since first emerging nearly a year ago in China, the virus has killed more than 1.4-million people worldwide.
The Surrey Teachers Association is calling on the district to immediately cut class sizes while also putting in other pandemic protocols, including a call for students to wear masks. As another school in Surrey is ordered by Fraser Health to close for two weeks, teachers in Surrey say they are not surprised and unless changes are made, it won’t be the last one to have to close. In an open letter, the Surrey Teachers’ Association is calling on the district to make significant changes in the city.
Merriam-Webster’s choice for its 2020 word of the year was a no-brainer. The dictionary has chosen “pandemic,” which started to trend on Merriam-Webster.com as early as January . Lookups on the site for pandemic were about 115-thousand — 800 per cent higher than a year before. This year’s runners-up included coronavirus, quarantine, asymptomatic, mamba, kraken and malarkey.
The Liberals plan to spend up to 100-billion dollars to rebuild Canada’s COVID-19-battered economy over three years. They’re pledging 25-billion to help businesses and workers weather the winter. The federal government is promising tens of billions more to help the country recover from the pandemic. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland unveiled the fall economic update in the House of Commons. Freeland defends the record deficit of more than 381-billion dollars as affordable, while accusing the former Conservative government of withdrawing stimulus too quickly after the last recession 12 years ago.
A medical geographer at the University of B-C says Premier John Horgan should put more focus on fighting the second wave of COVID-19 at this time, rather than making plans for a future economic recovery. Professor Tom Koch, who specializes in mapping diseases, says Horgan may be premature in touting his pandemic recovery agenda while B-C is still recording record COVID-19 numbers. The premier appointed a new cabinet last week, including naming Ravi Kahlon as his economic recovery minister. Koch says it appears the government is making plans for a COVID-19 victory parade when it should be working to get families, businesses and communities through the next few months.
Many smaller, independent businesses may face closure if B.C. shoppers don’t make a strong effort to buy local this holiday season. So warn backers of B.C. Buy Local Week, which started Monday (Nov. 30) and continues until Dec. 6, as “an annual celebration of the unique contributions that B.C. businesses make to our economy.” The ninth annual initiative encourages consumers to do their holiday spending at locally-owned businesses, to keep businesses open after being severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Local businesses are just hanging on, and really need our support at this time,” says Amy Robinson, founder and executive director of LOCO BC, which co-ordinates the Buy Local Week campaign in the province. “Retail sales this year have plummeted, while online shopping with multinationals has soared. BC Buy Local Week is a great time to start shifting your shopping towards local businesses when making your holiday purchases, including buying gifts, gift cards, food or drinks.” Ed Holden operates the Christmas Store at Potters, a 28,000-square-foot destination store at 192nd Street and 48th Avenue in Surrey. “I buy stuff on Amazon and websites, too, because sometimes you just can’t find it in stores,” Holden said. “But there’s not much we don’t have here, and we try to the make the shopping experience fun. We have some locally made products, a good mix.” The garden shop’s Christmas store first opened 16 years ago as a way to keep staff employed year-round, he said.
The First Nations Leadership Council is calling on the province to act on a report that found widespread systemic racism in B-C’s health-care system. The report released today by former judge Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond found extensive negative profiling of Indigenous patients affects treatment and care. But Turpel-Lafond said she could not confirm allegations of an organized game to guess the blood-alcohol level of Indigenous patients in emergency rooms that led to her investigation. Her report makes 24 recommendations, including the appointment of an Indigenous health officer and an associate deputy minister of Indigenous health.
A 68-year-old man described as being known to police has been charged in an arson and assault in Whalley last August. Surrey R-C-M-P say three people inside a residence were rushed to hospital with smoke inhalation after a fire that fully engulfed the home. Police say one person also suffered from injuries consistent with having been assaulted. They say David Thind was arrested a week ago and remains in custody on charges of arson with disregard for life, assault and uttering threats.