Today, we are reporting 522 new cases of COVID-19, 338 of those new cases were found in the Fraser Health region There have been 21 new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 668 deaths in British Columbia. but there is some good news.. A 64-year-old health care worker has received the first COVID-19 vaccination in B-C. The residential care aide has worked at Vancouver General Hospital for 41 years. The first batch of about four-thousand doses of the new Pfizer vaccine will be given to health-care workers in long-term care facilities and intensive care units in the Lower Mainland. But immunization is set to be expanded to all health authorities in the province by next week.
One person is in the hospital after being hit by a vehicle in South Surrey last night. Police were called to North Bluff Road and Best Street, near Peace Arch Hospital, around 7 PM. The person is in serious condition with life-threatening injuries The driver of the vehicle stayed on the scene and is cooperating.
The first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in B.C. are ready to go and will start to be administered today. The first shots will be given in the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health regions. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the vaccine’s arrival is “momentous” news, but she warns this doesn’t mean it’s safe to break physical distancing restrictions.
B-C is reporting two-thousand-146 new cases of COVID-19 and 49 more people have died between Friday and Monday. Doctor Bonnie Henry says the deaths are a tragedy and bring the total number of fatalities to 647 since the pandemic began. The province now has more than 10 thousand active cases of the virus. A record number of 359 people are in hospital, including 87 in intensive care.
Thanks to the efforts of a six-year-old girl, Delta is getting a new crosswalk in 2021. Earlier this year, she was crossing Central Avenue near Lions Park with her siblings to get to school and her brother was almost hit by a car. With some help from her mom , she got 30 signatures from neighbours who shared her concern and sent a petition and a hand-written letter off to city hall. Less than a month later, council enthusiastically and unanimously voted to go ahead.
A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians support the idea of a lockdown on non-essential businesses and services during the holidays to fight a surge in new COVID-19 cases across the country. Sixty-five per cent of respondents in the poll said they supported a general lockdown in their province during Christmas and New Year’s to tackle the pandemic versus 29 per cent who opposed the idea.
The iconic 23-year-old orca logo donned by Canucks players and fans has come under fire as an example of cultural appropriation and the continuation of colonialism.. One Indigenous studies and history professor, says the team should scrap the logo, entirely, out of respect. The conversation was brought up online after Canucks goaltender Braden Holtby apologized for donning a new goalie helmet with similarly borrowed design elements.
B-C’s advocate for children and youth is calling for lasting changes to what her office calls a “notoriously” inadequate support system for young people transitioning out of government care when they turn 19. A report from Jennifer Charlesworth’s office notes the province brought in temporary measures to help youth in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It says that shows the B-C government can act quickly to make the kind of changes advocates have long been calling for. The report makes numerous recommendations, including the creation of a provincewide system of dedicated transition workers to support youth who transition out of care up to age 27.
Interior Health says an investigation has found 60 cases of COVID-19 linked to the Big White Ski Resort in Kelowna. It says large groups and social gatherings appear to be responsible for much of the transmission related to shared housing at the resort. The health authority says it’s safe to visit Big White as long as people stick to their immediate household bubbles and avoid gathering with others. But Interior Health is again asking people to avoid non-essential travel and to only visit their local ski hill.
Premier John Horgan says the province will be cracking down on people who refuse to follow COVID-19 restrictions over the next few weeks. He warns tighter enforcement will ensure people face consequences for breaking the ban on hosting or visiting people from different households. Horgan says he understands people want to gather with family and friends during the holiday season. But he says they need to remember their sacrifices now may keep people alive.
Twenty-three organizations across B-C will receive new grants to support the delivery of emergency sexual assault response services. The Ending Violence Association of B-C is administering a
three-year, 10-million-dollar grant program it says will start to fill the gaps created when funding to B-C Sexual Assault Centres was cut almost 20 years ago. Ten organizations focused on Indigenous services will receive more than 4.6 million dollars and the other 13 groups will get the rest. The money won’t stop the need, however, because the anti-violence
association says it received proposals worth more than 30 million dollars for the grants.