Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, have issued a joint statement regarding updates on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response in British Columbia. "Today, we are reporting 444 new cases of COVID-19, including five epi-linked cases, for a total of 47,510 cases in British Columbia. "There are 9,481 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. There are 357 individuals currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 84 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. "A total of 36,094 people who tested posit

Police say they are investigating the sudden death of a child. Incident took place in Tofino, B.C. The Integrated Major Crime Unit says the Mounties were called to help BC Ambulance workers on Dec. 13 after it was reported a child had suffered injuries on the Ty-Histanis Reserve. Police say the child died on Dec. 16. A news release from the RCMP says the BC Coroners Service is also conducting a fact-finding investigation into the unexpected death.

BC Federation of Labour is attending a rally to show support for Indian farmers. The rally is being organized in Surrey. The BC Federation of Labour, alongside several unions, has declared full support for the farmers in India who are currently protesting against legislation that will deregulate agricultural markets and favour corporate interests over those of small food producers. Among other demands, farmers in India are also demanding the minimum support pricing for various crops to be made a law. The protest will begin at 6.30pm. To support social distancing protocols, the intersection of

Health Minister Patty Hajdu says "the whole research community" is working on the newly detected strain of the virus that causes COVID-19. They're trying to determine whether it's more of a threat to public health than the more familiar strains of the virus. Hajdu says the appearance of the new strain in the United Kingdom is a reminder that international travel is a bad idea during the pandemic. Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the new strain appears to spread much more easily. The Canadian government temporarily shut down flights from the U.K. Sunday evening. Public Safety Mi

The apparent drowning death of a prominent Pakistani dissident in Toronto is provoking suspicion. Police said they had found 37 year old Karima Mehrab dead yesterday. Mehrab, widely known as Karima Baloch, had been reported missing a day earlier. A close friend and fellow activist tells The Canadian Press that Mehrab had recently received death threats. Her body was pulled from waters near downtown Toronto. Police in Toronto say they are not treating the apparent drowning death of a prominent Pakistani dissident as suspicious. But Lateef Johar, a friend of Karima Mehrab, says the family fears

Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says this is a perilous time, and Canada is set for an even stronger resurgence of COVID-19. She is urging all Canadians to obey public health advice to keep the situation from getting worse and to protect health-care workers. Dr. Tam says so far, officials have not detected any cases of the new strain of COVID-19 sweeping southern England. Ottawa has temporarily banned flights from the UK. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair says officials are considering bringing in even stricter border-protection measures.

Police are looking for a teenager who they say may be linked to an alleged sexual assault involving two children in Delta, BC. A statement from police says two boys were playing on the grounds of South Delta Secondary School in Tsawwassen on Sunday when they were approached by the teen. Police say he allegedly tried to grab the children by their arms, then touched them in a sexual manner. Police describe the suspect as an Asian male between the ages of 15 and 18, of average height, wearing a red jacket. Police say they want to speak to several basketball players who were playing nearby and ma

BC's Health Minister says provincial health officials are reviewing a proposal by the National Hockey League that could restart play next month. Adrian Dix says the NHL's so-called bubble earlier this year was quite successful. COVID-19 case counts were lower across Canada during that period. Dix says the illness is more prevalent now and health officials in BC and across Canada will respond to the league's proposal in the coming days. He adds there are many other hockey leagues across BC and it's important that everyone is treated fairly.

Arhtiyas also known as commission agents have closed grain markets across the state for 4 days against Income Tax raids on them and also in support of the farmers' protest. Kharar Market Arhti Association, Chairman Rajesh Sood claimed that raids were conducted to threaten Arthi Mandis to take back support from the farmers' protest. Sood said, "We have shut the markets for 4 days as PM Modi wants to suppress the farmers' protest. They also tried to pressurize Arhti so that we take back our support but this will not happen. Everyone is in support of Farmers' protest. And this protest will be suc