British Columbia's premier is apologizing for comments he made Thursday comparing the COVID-19 pandemic to the province's ongoing opioid crisis. B.C. set a new record of 175 overdose deaths in June, surpassing the record just set in May and about 5,000 people have died since the province declared a public health emergency in 2016. Advocates have questioned whether the opioid crisis has been overshadowed by the pandemic, despite occurring for longer and with a higher death toll. Horgan told reporters Friday that he ``mischaracterized'' the challenges of addiction. He says he knows addictions c

There's more evidence that COVID-19 is a stubborn bug to beat. Two new outbreaks have been flagged in British Columbia. One is at a neo-natal intensive care unit in Vancouver, and there's another case detected at a massive hydroelectric project. Vancouver Coastal Health has issued a notice about the outbreak at the neo-natal unit at St. Paul's hospital in Vancouver's downtown. Several patients and their families have been traced as potential contacts and are in isolation. BC Hydro says a worker who arrived from Alberta on Monday to the Site C work camp in Fort St. John has tested positive and

A newborn intensive care unit at a Vancouver hospital is the site of the latest COVID-19 outbreak in the city.Vancouver Coastal Health, which administers health care services for much of Greater Vancouver region and the inner south and central coasts, issued a notice about the outbreak Thursday.The outbreak covers the neo-natal intensive care unit at St. Paul's hospital in downtown Vancouver.The agency did not say if the outbreak is related to staff or patients at the unit, or how many cases have been reported.Officials with the health authority say a satellite unit has been set up to continu

Premier John Horgan says he expects BC will receive nearly two billion dollars from the federal government under a new COVID-19 Safe Restart Agreement. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government is providing a total of 19-billion dollars to provinces and territories to boost their economies amid the pandemic. The agreement includes 10 days of paid sick leave, fully funded by the federal government. Horgan says the sick-leave program is a key move to make sure nobody feels pressured to go to work while ill.

BC is reporting 21 new cases of COVID-19 and no additional deaths. The province's death toll stands at 189. The province's top doctor says 2,789 people in BC have recovered from the illness out of 3,170 cases in total. Doctor Bonnie Henry says 192 of BC's cases are active. Four cases are now associated with Krazy Cherry Fruit Company in Oliver and Henry says 27 cases have been linked to recent instances of community exposure in Kelowna. Dr. Henry says the next step is more targeted antibody testing to help understand who has been most affected by the virus.

Police say a pedestrian is in critical condition after a crash involving a semi truck in Surrey's Cloverdale neighbourhood this morning. RCMP say they responded to the collision at the intersection of 172 Street and Highway 10 just after 9:40 A-M and roads are closed in the area. They say the driver of the semi truck remained at the scene and officers are investigating. The pedestrian is in hospital in critical condition and police ask that anyone who witnessed the collision come forward.

Another record for monthly overdose deaths related to illicit drugs has been set in British Columbia. The BC Coroners Service says 175 fatalities in June surpassed the previous high of 171 deaths in May. Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe says the pandemic has limited access to harm-reduction services and people should not be using opioids or other substances alone. Lapointe is urging substance users to have someone present when using drugs or to go to an overdose prevention or supervised-consumption site where drugs can be checked for toxicity. She says opioids, along with cocaine and the stimulant

BC health officials say they're concerned about the increase in new cases of COVID-19 in the province. Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry say in a joint statement that they're worried COVID-19 is silently circulating in communities. The province has logged 21 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of three-thousand 149. While infections early in the pandemic were concentrated in long-term care and assisted living facilities, health officials say most of the new cases are in the broader community. The statement says residents need to do their part by layering

Police are investigating after a body was found in a wooded area on the boundary between Langley, B.C., and Surrey on Wednesday morning. Surrey RCMP say in a news release that officers and members of the Langley fire department responded to a report of a brush fire shortly before 11 a.m. They say the fire was put out and a body was found. The cause of the person's death is not known but police says it's suspicious. The Mounties did not provide information about the identity of the person found dead. Surrey RCMP's general investigation unit has taken over the investigation.