A COVID-19 outbreak has been declared at Promontory Heights Elementary School, forcing the school to close until at least Oct. 3, effective immediately. In a release sent to parents and staff at the Chilliwack school, Fraser Health says all unvaccinated staff and students from the affected grades are to self-isolate at home, while all others affected will receive self-monitoring instructions. The health authority says it is now reviewing the school’s COVID-19 safety plans If your child attends Promontory Heights, Fraser Health is advising all children who may have symptoms of COVID-19 to be tested.
The B-C Federation of Labour is encouraging workers to provide feedback to the province on three proposed options for a planned new paid sick leave program. Labour Minister Harry Bains says results of an online survey will help determine whether the program will offer three, five or 10 days of paid sick leave. Labour federation president Laird Cronk says bringing in 10 days
of leave would represent a breakthrough in protecting workplace and community health. Cronk says the lack of paid sick leave is putting strain on the healthcare system and amplifying inequalities between workers — but they are still waiting to hear details of B-C’s plan and how it will be paid.
Elections Canada says there are still a few close-run ridings where the final result of Monday’s vote is yet to be determined. Mail ballots are still being counted in the Alberta riding of Edmonton Griesbach, where The Canadian Press is projecting that Blake Desjarlais delivered a notable victory for the N-D-P over the Conservatives. In B-C, the ridings of Nanaimo-Ladysmith, West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country and Richmond Centre are still up in the air. Elections Canada has warned final results may not be available until tomorrow for some ridings with thousands of postal votes.
BC health officials announced 832 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the province to 181,769. In a written statement, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said that there are 5,697 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Of the active cases, 330 individuals are currently hospitalized, 148 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: 377 new cases, 1,932 total active cases
- Vancouver Coastal Health: 114 new cases, 909 total active cases
- Interior Health: 153 new cases, 1,181 total active cases
- Northern Health: 117 new cases, 977 total active cases
- Island Health: 71 new cases, 654 total active cases
- Outside of Canada: No new cases, 44 total active cases
There have been five new COVID-19-related deaths over the past 24 hours, for a total of 1,915 in BC.
Past week cases (September 15 – 21) – Total 4,417
- Not vaccinated: 2,996 (67.8%)
- Partially vaccinated: 342 (7.7%)
- Fully vaccinated: 1,079 (24.4%)
Past two weeks cases hospitalized (September 8 – September 21) – Total 437
- Not vaccinated: 327 (74.8%)
- Partially vaccinated: 34 (7.8%)
- Fully vaccinated: 76 (17.4%)
Past week, cases per 100,000 population (September 15-21)
- Not vaccinated: 289
- Partially vaccinated: 87.9
- Fully vaccinated: 27
After factoring for age, people not vaccinated are 25.8 times more likely to be hospitalized than those fully vaccinated. To date, 87.3% of all eligible people 12 and over have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine; 79.9% have received their second dose. 173,786 people who tested positive have now recovered
Recommendations released today aimed at getting more electric vehicles on the road in B-C include new optional rates to lower the cost of charging the vehicles at home. The recommendations flow out of the second phase of a B-C Hydro review to get more drivers to go electric. Other proposals include considering measures to help middle- to lower-income households get into an E-V and plans for the deployment of more public fast-charging stations. B-C had the highest E-V adoption rate in North America last year and Environment Minister George Heyman says the new recommendations could make E-V’s more affordable and convenient.
Students at an elementary school in Chilliwack are once again learning from home as their classrooms have been temporarily closed by a surge in COVID-19 infections. Fraser Health says 20 cases of the virus have been identified at Promontory Heights Elementary and it’s expected the decision to move to online learning will halt the increase. A note on the school’s website says in-person teaching should resume on October 4th. Fraser Health, which includes Chilliwack, is reporting one-thousand-734 active cases of COVID-19 — the highest number of any health authority in B-C.
Two men have been hurt in a targeted, early morning shooting in Surrey. R-C-M-P say the victims, aged 23 and 47, were attacked in a home in the Newton neighbourhood at around 5 a-m. Both men are expected to survive and investigators say one of them was also shot while standing in the driveway of the same home about two months ago. Although police say the attack is targeted, they haven’t said if it might be linked to Metro Vancouver’s ongoing gang conflict.
Vancouver-based athletic company Lululemon is a winner with Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic committees. They’ve signed Lululemon as the official outfitter of Team Canada — starting with next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing. The contract runs until after the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Athletes, coaches and other members of Team Canada will wear Lululemon-designed clothing and accessories for opening and closing ceremonies, medal ceremonies and within the athletes’ village.