Staff and students at an elementary school in Surrey hit by a COVID-variant are staging another “solidarity walk-in” Friday morning, pushing for tougher safety measures in classrooms. James Ardiel Elementary has five divisions that had to self-isolate because of exposures to a variant and, after a similar protest on Tuesday, staff and students planned another protest before class on Friday to push for things like mandatory masks for younger students. The BC Teachers’ Federation is also increasing pressure on the province, questioning Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry’s explanation for why younger kids don’t have to mask up in the classroom. president Teri Mooring. says “The only reason ever given is that kids will fiddle with their masks and will touch their faces more,” Wearing masks remains a personal choice for elementary students in B.C., although many teachers do ask their students to wear them in the classroom. Henry has consistently said young children are less likely to spread COVID-19 or have severe infections.
B-C’s top doctor says the province isn’t at the point where public health restrictions can be lifted, due to concerns about the potential for the rapid spread of COVID-19. Doctor Bonnie Henry says she understands the desire to see restrictions lifted, but concerns over B-C’s rising rolling seven-day average of cases mean that will not happen yet. B-C reported 395 cases of COVID-19 and 10 new deaths yesterday. Close to 240 thousand doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in B.C. so far, including more than 68 thousand people who received their second shot.
The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine has become the third to be given the green light in Canada. Health Canada has approved the shot developed at Oxford University for national use. Canada has pre-ordered 20-million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and will receive up to 1.9-million more through the global vaccine-sharing initiative, COVAX. Two other vaccines are also in the pipeline — one from Johnson & Johnson and another from Novavax
Another tall urban peak will be added to the emerging downtown Surrey area, following Surrey City Council’s decision on Monday that provided the Global Education City Education Mega Centre (GEC MEC) tower application with final approval in its third reading. The mixed-use institutional and student housing project will be built at 10240 City Parkway, replacing the Stardust roller rink, which underwent demolition earlier this month. This site is immediately southeast of SkyTrain’s Surrey City Centre Station and bus exchange. The project’s construction cost is estimated at $270 million, and the property for development was acquired in August 2019 for about $23 million. It is still Surrey’s tallest tower — about 30 ft taller than the nearby 3 Civic Tower while homes will still be marketed to students (Simon Fraser University (SFU) and Kwantlen Polytechnic University campuses.), there will be some flexibility for these homes to be available to the public as well. Total of 383 residential units Construction on GEC Education Mega Centre is now anticipated to begin after Summer 2021 for a completion by late 2024 or early 2025.
The father of a teen accused of violating the dress code at her Kamloops high school this week is confident positive change is coming — thanks to her taking a stand. On Tuesday, Karis Wilson went to NorKam Secondary wearing a lace-trimmed slip dress over a long-sleeved turtleneck. The Grade 12 student says she felt humiliated when her teacher told her the outfit was not appropriate and escorted her down to the principal’s office. He now says he’s heard from school trustees and the principal who want his daughter to return as soon as possible. Wilson says Karis is not ready to return because she’s still upset what she wore that day could be considered offensive by anyone, but his latest conversation with Principal Jonathan Brady was productive.
The B-C Teachers Federation is questioning why the province won’t make elementary students wear masks if the policy seems to work in other provinces. As of right now – Masks are a personal choice for elementary students in B-C, although staff must wear them in common areas. Provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry has said young kids don’t get as sick with COVID-19 or pass it on as well and they tend to fiddle with their masks, which can be counterproductive. But teachers’ union president Teri Mooring says introducing the policy would make teachers feel safer and would bring B-C in line with other provinces like Ontario and Quebec.
Canada’s chief public health officer says the daily COVID-19 case counts are nearly 75 times higher than they were at the peak of the first wave. Doctor Theresa Tam made the comment on a day when Health Canada approved a third COVID vaccine. It’s AstraZeneca’s version. Tam is warning of a rise in new, more dangerous, COVID-19 variants. Tam says average daily case counts in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia have increased between eight and 14 per cent over the previous week. So far the vaccines are proving effective against the variants.
A Surrey boat dealer is in hot water, now that Surrey RCMP’s financial crimes unit has charged him with 33 counts of fraud- and theft-related crimes. Police say a “complex investigation” that took close to 20 months has resulted in multiple charges against Breakwater Marine owner Aaron Fell. The unit began their investigation in June 2019, after police fielded multiple complaints about fraudulent business practices by the boat dealership, located in Fleetwood, in the 16000-block of Fraser Highway. According to the RCMP, Fell, 50, of Surrey, was charged with 33 counts on Thursday (Feb. 26), including 30 counts of fraud-related charges and three counts of theft of property charges.
The B-C Liberal party says the winner of its leadership race will be announced on February 5th after three days of voting. Interim party president Don Silversides says the vote has been set for next year to attract the broadest possible range of candidates. He says it was also chosen because the COVID-19 pandemic could be under control. Candidates have until November 30th to officially enter the race.
Health Canada has approved AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine — which is the third to get the green light for domestic use. The regulatory team says it’s both safe and effective and can be used immediately on people over the age of 18. So that means AstraZeneca joins the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines on the list of those authorized in Canada. Clinical trials show it to be less effective at preventing infection than the first two. But Health Canada chief medical adviser Dr. Supriya Sharma says it’s still keeping people from getting very sick or dying.