B-C health minister Adrian Dix says the province’s vaccine card has helped boost vaccination rates but 10.3 per cent of the population remains unvaccinated. The province has reported 609 new cases of COVID-19 and six more deaths, five of which occurred in the Fraser Health authority. It says there are 422 people in hospital with 157 of those in intensive care units. The province says 89.7 per cent of eligible people 12 and older have received their first dose of the vaccine, and 84.7 per cent have received their second dose
The B-C government says it’s replacing a patchwork of care programs for children and youth with special needs, as well as those with disabilities with a new system that provides coordinated services. It says one-stop family connection hubs will offer mental health, behavior and family supports to children and youth from birth to 19 years of age. Children and family development minister Mitzi Dean says services will be based on individual needs regardless of having a referral or diagnosis so children don’t have to wait for help. The ministry says the first hubs will open in 2023 in B-C’s northwest and central Okanagan, and will be fully implemented across the province by 2025.
The R-C-M-P say they’re investigating the theft of a five-foot tall fibreglass statue of a T-Rex dinosaur — not from the Jurassic period, but from a backyard in North Burnaby. Police say they believe more than one person was needed to steal the statue weighing 36 kilograms and it was likely taken in the middle of the night earlier this week. Owner John Anderson says he believes the statue originally came from Expo 86 and he has owned it for 20 years. Anderson says it’s possible tricksters took it as a Halloween prank but he’d like it back because not everybody has a dinosaur in their backyard.
Surrey RCMP are asking for help finding a 14-year-old Surrey boy. Police say Gerrit Surette was last seen on Tuesday (Oct. 26) at about 1:30 pm, at Fleetwood Park Secondary school. Police and his family are concerned for his wellbeing. Gerrit is Caucasian, 5’7” and 150 lbs., with dark-blonde hair. He was last seen wearing a black and white track suit. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP
The fire aboard a cargo ship off the coast of Victoria is under control but the Canadian Coast Guard is clarifying that more than double the number of cargo containers went overboard than initially thought. A total of 106 containers — not 40, as previously reported — of toys, clothing, automotive parts, industrial parts and furniture went off the side of the ship when it hit rough seas near Port Angeles. The fire onboard MV Zim Kingston burning about 8km from the Victoria shore has “stabilized” — which is why the crew was able to safely access the container bays on the ship and confirm the number of containers. According to a tweet thread from the coast guard, Unified Command expects some of the containers have sunk and the Environmental Unit will assess for potential impacts. The coast guard says it’s possible some containers may wash up on the beach. They’ve been tracked moving northward along the west coast of Vancouver Island and some have been spotted off Cape Scott on the northern tip of the island. According to Danaos Shipping, which owns the ship, the trouble began when the containers fell into the water as the ship approached Vancouver in choppy waters. If you see containers wash up, the coast guard is urging the public to avoid opening or moving them due to the hazardous contents of some of the containers.
Halloween is catching up to Christmas when it comes to huge displays of lights and inflatables. BC Hydro says Halloween ‘mega displays’ have become much more common in recent years and many are draining the provincial electricity load. A survey finds almost a quarter of British Columbians now decorate about the same amount for both Halloween and Christmas and almost 10 per cent are decorating more for Oct. 31. The utility company says holiday displays now account for about three per cent of the provincial electricity load during the holidays, with Halloween set to catch up if current trends continue. BC Hydro says the other issue is that 22 per cent of the lights are older, inefficient incandescent bulbs, instead of LEDs, which last ten times longer. Another cost-saving tip is to plug lights into timers so they aren’t on all night long, BC Hydro suggests.
Premier John Horgan says he requires immediate biopsy surgery following the discovery of a growth in his throat, but he plans to stay on the job. Horgan says he’s been in and out of the hospital for tests for a number of weeks and expects to stay overnight after undergoing a biopsy tomorrow that will determine what he’s dealing with. The 62-year-old premier says he had bladder cancer when he was in his 40s and he’s confident that he will be fine. Horgan says he intends to keep working, but has appointed Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth as deputy premier as a precaution.
Amazon is reporting a drop in third-quarter profits and sales due to an easing of pandemic-induced online splurging. The Seattle-based online giant reports a profit of 6.2-billion dollars — down from 6.3 billion a year ago. Amazon is one of the few retailers to prosper during the pandemic. As physical stores selling non-essential goods temporarily or permanently closed, people stuck at home turned to Amazon for everything from groceries to cleaning supplies.
Facebook is rebranding its company name as “Meta.” It’s an effort to encompass its virtual-reality vision for the future. C-E-O Mark Zuckerberg introduced his vision for the next technological horizon for humanity. The social media site will still be called Facebook.
An independent COVID-19 modelling group says projections suggest cases will decline in all health authorities over the next three weeks as immunity levels build among the vaccinated. The experts from three universities and the private sector says cases are declining at about two per cent a day. But they are warning that children under 10 could now be more at risk of contracting the virus because they are unvaccinated. They say future risks could also come from more time indoors as the weather cools and more transmissible variants evolve.
BC health officials announced 758 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the province to 204,330. In a written statement, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said that there are 4,961 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Of the active cases, 434 individuals are currently in hospital, 155 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
New cases and total active cases, broken down by health region, are as follows:
- Fraser Health: 329 new cases, 2,153 total active cases
- Vancouver Coastal Health: 74 new cases, 678 total active cases
- Interior Health: 108 new cases, 664 total active cases
- Northern Health: 133 new cases, 821 total active cases
- Island Health: 114 new cases, 586 total active cases
- Outside of Canada: 0 new cases, 59 total active cases
There have been 10 COVID-19-related deaths over the past 24 hours, for a total of 2,147 deaths in BC. This includes four in Fraser Health, four in Interior Health, and two in Northern Health.
From October 20 to 26, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 64.7% of cases and from October 13 to 26, they accounted for 74.0% of hospitalizations.
Past week cases (October 20 to 26) – Total 4,066
- Not vaccinated: 2,365 (58.2%)
- Partially vaccinated: 266 (6.5%)
- Fully vaccinated: 1,435 (35.3%)
Past two weeks cases hospitalized (October 13 to 26) – Total 458
- Not vaccinated: 310 (67.7%)
- Partially vaccinated: 29 (6.3%)
- Fully vaccinated: 119 (26.0%)
Past week, cases per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (October 20 to 26)
- Not vaccinated: 288.6
- Partially vaccinated: 87.1
- Fully vaccinated: 33.4
Past two weeks, cases hospitalized per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (October 13 to 26)
- Not vaccinated: 57.0
- Partially vaccinated: 12.6
- Fully vaccinated: 2.6
To date, 89.8% of all eligible people 12 and over have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine; 84.9% have received their second dose.