The country's top doctor says the daily rate of COVID-19 cases across the country is down to an average of 3,500. Doctor Theresa Tam says that's less than half the number reported in early January. But while declining case counts, hospitalizations and deaths are reassuring, she says we must continue to be cautious.Doctor Tam says while it's normal for variants to emerge as viruses continuously evolve, these are a concern because they are known to spread more easily and there's the possibility that current vaccines won't offer protection. Tam says with 355 cases of the UK variant, 25 of the Sou

Canadians who show up at the land border without a COVID-19 test result in hand will still be allowed in the country. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada can't stop its citizens or permanent residents from coming into the country via car. But he says the negative tests required at the land border as of next Monday will be mandatory. He says fines of up to $3,000 could be put in place for those who don't have the test. Most non-essential travellers coming back to Canada do have to quarantine for 14 days. Relaxed approach to pay interest on 2020 tax debt until next yearOttawa is tweaking

Researchers at BC Children's Hospital are trying to better understand the mental health impacts of COVID-19 on children and their families by asking them to complete an online survey. Doctors S. Evelyn Stewart and Hasina Samji are leading the study that aims to gauge how the pandemic affects people's feelings and actions over time in order to learn how they manage and which resources may be helpful. Stewart says the research would provide evidence to guide clinical and policy decisions during this pandemic and those in the future. Children and youth over the age of seven are invited to fill i

BC's top doctor is appealing for continued vigilance with COVID-19 public health orders as officials try to understand the prevalence of the UK and South African variants and how they entered communities. Doctor Bonnie Henry says that's part of the work being done before pandemic restrictions that have been in place since November are loosened as the province anticipates an increasing number of vaccines to be delivered in the coming weeks. Dr. Henry says that if the variants take hold as in parts of Ontario, a whole new pandemic could get underway so it's important not to undo the progress th

Health Canada regulators agree with Pfizer and BioNTech that you can regularly get six doses out of each vial of their COVID-19 vaccine.Health Canada's chief medical adviser Dr. Supriya Sharma says Canada is amending the label on the vials in Canada, which previously indicated the vials contained five doses.Now it will say there are six.The change won't affect how many doses Canada gets as Pfizer already began allocating vials for Canada's shipments based on each containing six rather than five.Canada's contract with Pfizer and BioNTech is to buy 40 million doses this year, with four million

Delhi Police has on Tuesday arrested actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu for his alleged involvement in 26 January violence in the national capital."Deep Sidhu, an accused in 26th January violence case arrested," Delhi Police Special Cell said on Tuesday. "The investigation into the Republic Day violence is being conducted at three levels - local police, Special Cell and Crime Branch.The names of Punjabi actor Deep Sidhu and gangster Lakka Sadana were included in the FIR registered in connection with the violence at Red Fort in Delhi on January 26," Delhi Police said earlier while adding that Sid

BC will start a clinical trial on a COVID-19 drug therapy approved by Health Canada on an emergency basis for patients who are at risk of severe illness. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the trial on the drug bamlanivimab is expected to get underway by the beginning of March. The antibody drug has been studied elsewhere, and Henry says it would be given to patients within a certain time period after diagnosis. Health Minister Adrian Dix says the trial will be done at Surrey Memorial Hospital with the help of a one-million-dollar donation from a BC biotech company. The drug has

Chinese-Canadian community leaders say the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic has been magnified by racism. Vancouver police reported a surge in anti-Asian hate crime in 2020, with seniors being attacked and businesses vandalized. The president of the Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice, Amy Go, says the initial rhetoric around the COVID-19 virus, has been harmful to the Chinese-Canadian community. Some labelled it as the "Wuhan virus" or the "China virus." Go says grocery stores, restaurants and other businesses owned by Chinese-Canadians have been particularly affected by misi

A woman has died as extreme cold grips most of Western Canada and parts of the territories and northern Ontario. RCMP in Dawson Creek, B.C., say the woman's death, related to exposure, happened early Sunday morning while she was walking in that northeastern city. Investigators say she left a friend's house right next door around 1 a.m. but collapsed before arriving at her home. Environment Canada says temperatures in Dawson Creek skidded to a frigid -42.2 C on Sunday and wind chill is making conditions across much of north and central B.C. feel close to -45. The weather office says usually ba