Today, we are reporting 723 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 40,060 cases in British Columbia. 456 of the new cases were in the Fraser Health region, There have been 28 new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 587 deaths in British Columbia Dr bonnie henry went on to say: With the approval of a safe and effective vaccine in Canada, as well as our COVID-19 immunization program starting next week, we have reached a new stage in B.C.’s response. “While this is encouraging, we still have a long way to go before we can have the confidence that our communities are safe and protected from this virus. “We don’t want to fall back just as we begin this push forward into the final leg of what has been a gruelling challenge. “There will be a time when we can take off our masks, when we can hug our loved ones and travel to see friends. We will get there, but we are not through this storm yet. So, for now, we need to stay small, stay local and help each other to push back on COVID-19.”
British Columbians are about to start getting a COVID-19 vaccine, with the first doses making their way to health-care workers in the Lower Mainland by next week. The process to develop a vaccine can take anywhere from 10 to 20 years, but nearly 4,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be in the province in a matter of days. One location in both the Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal regions will be the first to receive the vaccine.
The province is expecting to immunize close to 400,000 British Columbians by March, but says it must focus on getting the first round of doses to those needing protection the most. This includes frontline workers in long-term care centres and COVID-19 units in hospitals, as well as those living in long-term care. Next in line will be seniors in the community over the age of 80 and vulnerable populations — for instance, elderly people living on the Downtown Eastside and First Nations communities. After that and as more vaccines become available, wider distribution will take place and more people will start getting immunized. Health Canada approved Pfizer earlier in the day, and Henry expects Moderna is close behind, which is easier to transport.
The vaccine announcement comes as Henry reported that another 16 people have died from the virus, bringing the province’s total to 559. Now that we know vaccines are on their way, many are wondering how long it will take before we see an end to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and practices. Dr. Bonnie Henry said the pandemic should be on its last legs in the fall, if everything goes according to plan.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team is asking for public help on the shooting death of a 29-year-old woman. Police are naming Lisa Ellie Baines as the victim who was shot inside her vehicle in a Surrey back alley a week ago. Evidence gathered so far suggests it was an isolated shooting and police say it doesn’t appear related to drug or gang activity. Sergeant Frank Jang says police are building a strong case but they are also aware that there are others are out there who have information about the woman’s recent activities.
The City of Surrey has been left with a $7,000 bill after Mayor Doug McCallum was involved in another crash in the car the city bought for him to drive. And, even though the mayor promised to pay the costs of the car out of his annual car allowance, the city plans to forgive the debt and pay him just under 18-hundred in car-related costs this year instead. The costs come at a time when the city has just raised taxes by 2.9 per cent, while raising the parcel tax by $200.
A Burnaby man is sharing his heartbreak after losing both his mother and father to COVID-19 just hours apart on Sunday. The couple who were both 90… were in separate hospitals when they passed away. The couple, who had emigrated to Canada 20 years ago from Tanzania, had been married for 68 years.
Double deckers will not be used in White Rock South anytime soon, after White Rock City Council doubled down on its Summer 2020 decision against taking the necessary steps to accommodate the high clearance vehicles on its roads. City council rejected the motion calling for a reconsideration of city council’s previous decision, which would have directed city staff to prune trees along the bus route.
A woman who hasn’t seen her husband at a long-term care facility in Abbotsford for over three weeks following an outbreak of COVID-19 says she’d even work there cleaning toilets, just to get a glimpse of him. Lynne Smith says she’d visited her 72-year-old husband Derrick at Menno Place every day for nearly three years and has now responded to a call for families to help out because that’s the only way she could get inside the facility. The care home’s C-E-O Karen Biggs says she’s trying to recruit families because hiring staff was hard enough before an outbreak that began in mid-November sickened 31 residents and 21 staff on a unit that is home to just 45 people. Biggs says jobs range from housekeeping, laundry and delivery of food trays to residents’ rooms, and two people have been hired so far from over 50 applications from families, including grandchildren.
An octopus named after provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry is set to be released next week from an aquarium on Vancouver Island. Henry is a giant Pacific octopus who was brought to the Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea for care in June. The aquarium says in a release that Henry has been particularly calm, just like Doctor Henry, during its time at the facility in
Sidney. Henry is set to be released next Thursday in the area where it was found, on the west coast of Vancouver Island.