Ottawa says it has chartered a plane to bring home Canadians stranded on the Grand Princess cruise ship off the coast of California. Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says Canada made the decision after the U.S. government asked for help. The ship is carrying 3,500 people, including 237 Canadians, and it's expected to dock in Oakland, Calif., tomorrow. U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence announced Friday that at least 21 people aboard the ship, including 19 crew members, have tested positive for the virus. The chartered plane will bring passengers from San Francisco to Canadian F

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix informed in a press conference that as of this morning there are 27 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the province. Of the six new patients, two had travelled to Iran, two are from the Grand Princess cruise ship which was quarantined off the coast of San Francisco, and the other two are from a long term care centre in a North Vancouver. Dr. Henry informed that Lynn Valley Care Centre is under outbreak protocol now.

In the wake of the outbreak of novel coronavirus in India, the public parade ceremony at the Attari-Wagah border has been discontinued from March 7. "Till further orders, public parade ceremony at Attari Wagah border has been discontinued from March 7 in view of the coronavirus outbreak. Around 20,000 to 25,000 people are there in that ceremony so to maintain precaution on the coronavirus outbreak, the ceremony has been discontinued," Amritsar Deputy Commissioner (DC) Shiv Dullar Singh Dhillon said. "The Health department's advisory has been issued to the hotel industry representatives. If pe

The Alberta government says the province has a second presumptive case of the novel coronavirus. Dr. Deena Hinshaw, chief medical officer of health, says the second case is a man in his 40s in the Edmonton area who had travelled on business to Michigan, Illinois and Ohio. Hinshaw says the man returned to Alberta on Feb. 28 and is currently isolated at his home. Alberta's first case was announced Thursday, a woman in her 50s from Calgary who is expected to make a full recovery. Hinshaw says the woman works at ATB Financial, Alberta's Crown-owned bank. She says ATB has closed two Calgary branch

British Columbia's police complaint commissioner has decided not to hold a public hearing into the dismissal of a senior Vancouver police officer for discreditable conduct after an inappropriate relationship with a junior constable who died by suicide. The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner says in a statement that Sgt. Dave Van Patten also has not requested the decision be reviewed by a retired judge at a public hearing. Earlier this year, the office said Const. Nicole Chan killed herself in January 2019 and the police complaint commissioner ordered an investigation, which was condu

The Public Health Agency of Canada is trying to find more than 260 Canadians who were on the last voyage of the Grand Princess cruise ship. This after fellow Canadian passengers were diagnosed with COVID-19 upon their return last month. Currently, the ship is being held off the coast of California with 237 Canadians on board, as some passengers are tested for the virus.

British Columbia is activating its provincial pandemic plan to deal with the novel coronavirus.Health Minister Adrian Dix says the province is ready to use emergency powers to protect the population, health workers, and the health system's capacity to help patients with other problems.Dix says the B.C. government is also preparing for how it will function if large numbers of public employees get sick.The plan is to be ready to operate under an outbreak that lasts up to four months.Premier John Horgan says a committee of deputy ministers will oversee B.C.'s COVID-19 response, and the province n

British Columbia will work with First Nations to restore their legal practices and structures under an agreement signed today that aims to reduce the number of Indigenous people sent to jail. Attorney General David Eby says the agreement with the First Nations Justice Council is historic and will make a difference to Indigenous people for generations. He says about 30 per cent of inmates in B.C.'s jails and prisons are from First Nations, but they comprise less than four per cent of the province's total population. Eby says his ministry and the council will work together to implement the stra

An elementary school northeast of Prince George is closed again today as crews clean up following a train derailment yesterday morning, barely 200 metres from the school grounds. Canadian National confirms 27 cars jumped the tracks and what is described as ``a small amount'' of petroleum coke, a non-hazardous product of the refining process, spilled into a nearby creek. CN says environmental experts and regulatory officials are overseeing that clean up, while the Transportation Safety Board will lead an investigation into the cause of the crash. None of the workers on the train, and no staff