Health Canada has approved the use of remdesivir to treat patients with severe symptoms of COVID-19. The federal agency says the antiviral drug may be used to treat patients who have pneumonia and require extra oxygen to help them breathe. It's the first drug that Health Canada has authorized for the treatment of COVID-19. Health Canada approved its use in adults and adolescents. Remdesivir, which has been shown to shorten hospital stays, is administered intravenously and will be used only on patients that can be closely monitored. Until now, a small number of patients have been treated with

Park board commissioners in Vancouver have voted in favour of allowing alcohol consumption in 22 parks around the city, but relaxing with a cold one likely won't happen soon.Although commissioners capped a lengthy debate by approving a pilot project allowing park concessions to sell beer, cider and coolers, the board is seeking provincial involvement.It says in a social media post that the new bylaw will require an update to B.C.'s Liquor Control and Licensing Act, recognizing the park board as a governing body under a specific section of the act. At least on park commissioner says it means of

The co-founders of WE Charity testified before a House of Commons committee today as part of a parliamentary probe into a $912-million student-volunteer program. WE Charity co-founders Craig and Marc Kielburger say their organization was not tapped to run Ottawa's student-volunteer program because of any close ties to Liberal cabinet ministers. The brothers told a Parliamentary committee they regret not realizing how the deal would be perceived and that they would never have gotten involved if they had known it could jeopardize the work WE has done over 25 years. WE Charity backed out of ad

The RCMP say a 30 year old Surrey, B.C., man has been arrested and charged following an alleged sexual assault and robbery earlier this month. They say police received a report just after 11 p.m. on July 10 that a woman had been sexually assaulted near the King George SkyTrain station. Police say the victim was walking under the Expo line toward Fraser Highway when she was allegedly approached by a man with a weapon and robbed of her belongings. They say the man then pulled the woman into nearby bushes and sexually assaulted her, resulting in minor injuries that were treated in hospital. The

There are 114,597 confirmed cases in Canada. Quebec: 58,728 confirmed (including 5,667 deaths, 50,886 resolved) Ontario: 38,799 confirmed (including 2,764 deaths, 34,461 resolved) Alberta: 10,390 confirmed (including 186 deaths, 8,774 resolved) British Columbia: 3,500 confirmed (including 193 deaths, 3,043 resolved) Saskatchewan: 1,209 confirmed (including 16 deaths, 886 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,067 confirmed (including 63 deaths, 1,004 resolved) Manitoba: 386 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 319 resolved), 14 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 266 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 259 resolve

A berry packing plant in British Columbia's Fraser Valley is the newest site of a COVID-19 outbreak, where 15 cases have been linked. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says health authorities started the investigation Thursday and they're tracking down other potential contacts. She says 1,010 people have so far been told they must self-isolate because they've been exposed to others who have tested positive for the illness around the province. Changes to the rules around gatherings will limit the number of people in short-term vacation rentals, including hotel rooms and houseboats, to

The law extending the federal government's emergency wage subsidy for employers hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic has passed the Senate.The package passed by the House of Commons last week also includes one-time payments for people with disabilities facing higher expenses, and extensions to legal deadlines for some court matters. Bill C-20 passed on a voice vote without changes. The extension to the wage subsidy program is the core of the Liberal government's plan to help the economy get back into shape through the fall.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched high throughput COVID-19 testing facilities on July 27. The facilities were launched in three cities including Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Kolkata via video conferencing. PM Modi said, "10,000 capacity of tests are going to be added in the present capacity of tests in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Kolkata. Now in these following cities, tests will be carried out at a greater pace. These labs will not remain restricted to testing of COVID-19 but will be expanded for testing of many other diseases including Hepatitis B and C, HIV, and Dengue in future." India's COVID-19 c

British Columbia Premier John Horgan says drivers who have out-of-province licence plates on their vehicles should consider taking public transit or riding a bicycle if they're feeling harassed by people.Horgan also suggests drivers change over to B.C. licence plates to avoid trouble from residents who are concerned about the spread of COVID-19.He says he can't tell people how to respond when seeing out-of-province plates but judging people by where their vehicle is registered does not often tell a complete story of their circumstances.Horgan says people with out-of-province plates should be