B-C is reporting 694 new cases of COVID-19 — pushing the number of active cases past nine-thousand for the first time. Provincial heath officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has also announced
another 12 deaths — raising the total to 481. Henry says the province is continuing to make progress on Operation Immunize and hopes to begin the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines in the coming weeks. But she says there will only be limited amounts at first for those most at risk of severe illness and deaths.
Officials from every province and territory will be involved in Monday’s test run of Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan. Canadian Forces Major-General Dany Fortin, who is in charge of logistics for the distribution, says the goal is to get those involved used to the extreme requirements for the first expected vaccine. Health Canada officials have said they believe Pfizer’s vaccine candidate — which must be kept below minus 70 degrees Celsius at all times — could be approved for use in the next week to 10 days Fortin says the practice run — and simulated tests already underway — will help identify and fix any gaps in the distribution chain.
Fraser Health has declared an outbreak at The Cove Shelter in Whalley. According to an information bulletin Wednesday (Dec. 2), there has been 17 people, who “recently worked at or accessed site services,” that have tested positive for COVID-19. Fraser Health adds that as a precaution, no new clients are being admitted at this time. The Cove Shelter is operated by Surrey Urban Mission Society. Mike Musgrove, the executive director of SUMS, said Thursday that “Everyone’s healthy. They’re doing OK. No one’s been hospitalized. They haven’t received any medical treatment.
The ERC has since closed, with people being moved to The Olive Branch Shelter in the old Surrey Food Bank building.
(Yesterday COVID Update) On the day the U.K. gave the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine approval, our top doctor acknowledges the toll the virus is taking but asks everyone to keep doing their part to slow the spread. This comes as Dr. Bonnie Henry reported 834 new COVID-19 cases, and another 12 lives lost in the last day, prompting another call for British Columbians to take the health precautions seriously during the second surge. She again, repeated her call against unnecessary travel, which is part of the recent provincial health measures in place for another week. She also went on to talk about some recent cases where people weren’t following the rules. An adult hockey team still went from B.C. to Alberta to play, bringing the virus back with them and spreading it to dozens of people. Another case where a person got COVID-19 from a group fitness activity and that spread, infecting hundreds.
With Hanukkah and Christmas just around the corner, B.C.’s premier says people need to be focused on staying home. As COVID-19 cases continue to increase in every part of B.C., John Horgan is bluntly telling people there is no place in the province that is safe from the virus. He adds it’s time to break the chains of transmission and that means staying away from planes, trains, ferries or road trips unless it’s absolutely essential.
A 30-year-old woman is dead in an apparent shooting in Surrey. R-C-M-P say they were called at about 5:30 this morning to what was believed to be a single-vehicle crash in an alleyway (near 137th Street and 75-A Avenue.) Instead, police found the woman with a gunshot wound and while first responders tried to help, she died of her injuries. Police say they now believe a second vehicle was involved and the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team has been called in to help with the investigation. The provincial government is providing 2.3-million dollars to expand suicide prevention programs for young people at risk due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Members of the local Punjabi community rallied across the Lower Mainland in their cars yesterday to support India’s farmers. Farmers in India are facing new legislation that could lead to privatization on farms, potentially putting their livelihoods at risk. Organizers of the demonstration, say locals rallied to support family members at home and to encourage Canadian politicians to speak out against the violence facing those farmers who are protesting in India. The rally started in Surrey before the crowd made its way to the Indian Consulate in Downtown Vancouver.
It looks like a motorist in Burnaby went a little overboard in trying to get into the holiday spirit. Police say a driver was pulled over and ticketed after they duct-taped Christmas lights to their Tesla. A tweet from the Burnaby RCMP says, “Please don’t do this, it can be dangerous if they fall off in traffic, never mind the distraction.”
The Conservatives are demanding the Trudeau government share its plan for a nationwide COVID-19 vaccine rollout, and today they’ll introduce a motion to get the specifics. Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole says the Pfizer vaccine needs specialized freezers — but notes that Canada doesn’t have the national freezer capacity. The N-D-P, meantime, is calling on the government to create a Crown corporation dedicated to producing vaccines and critical medications domestically.
BC Premier John Horgan says MLAs are being recalled to Victoria next week to pass legislation to his promised COVID-19 cash benefits to British Columbians. He says they’ll work on passing “supply” to give families $1,000 and individuals $500. The NDP leader promised the cash during his campaign earlier this fall, saying families with annual incomes below $125,000 would receive $1,000 (with a sliding scale up to $175,000), and single people earning less than $62,000 per year would get $500 (with a sliding scale up to $87,000). Horgan has previously said he’s targeting Christmas for British Columbians to receive the money.
One-million dollars will go towards programs for First Nations and Metis youth and 1.3-million towards programs for post-secondary students. Mental Health Minister Sheila Malcolmson says the funding will provide young people struggling with suicidal thoughts access to help when and where they need it. The B-C division of the Canadian Mental Health Association says training for students, teachers and other campus members will be a key strategy of the expanded post-secondary programs.
B-C’s children’s watchdog says the pandemic has magnified deficiencies in the provincial safety net for children with special needs. A report by Jennifer Charlesworth says the health crisis has also added new troubles for tens of thousands of children who are disabled, have chronic health issues or neurological conditions. Her report calls for immediate action in eight areas, including information on available help for families and an extension of benefits through to next fall. Children and Families Minister Mitzi Dean says she knows these families are struggling and she’s asked her staff to speed up changes they were making before the pandemic.