Testing for COVID-19 is being stepped up as the number of new cases increases in British Columbia. Health Minister Adrian Dix and deputy provincial health officer Dr. Reka Gustafson say new testing centres and extended hours of service have been added in the Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health regions. In a joint statement, they say the province can now complete 8,000 tests a day. Another 68 new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in the province, bringing the active cases in the province to 798. A total of 4,745 cases have been diagnosed in B.C., while 3,749 people have recovered.

Police in New Westminster are applauding a Good Samaritan who turned in a wallet stuffed with so much cash it couldn't be closed. Police say a citizen found the wallet with nearly 2,300 dollars inside while walking down the street and brought it to police in hopes the owner could be contacted. The owner told police he'd lost the wallet while heading to the bank and was very relieved to get it back. Deputy Chief Constable Paul Hyland says it's great to get a reminder of how amazing people can be, especially when so many are negatively affected by COVID-19.

The BC Teachers' Federation says it wants smaller classes and mandatory masks whereever possible as part of the provincial back-to-school plan amid the pandemic. A statement from president Teri Mooring says the restart plan for Kindergarten to Grade 12 has made no change to classroom density and it's impossible to physical distance with 30 people in a classroom. The union also wants dedicated funding for heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment and expanding mandatory mask use for children aged 10 and older. The provincial government has said masks will be required whenever student

Vancouver Coastal Health is opening another COVID-19 assessment centre in preparation for a potential increase in cases as the cold and flu season approaches.The new site is at the north parking lot of Vancouver Community College on East 7th Avenue. It will be from 9 a-m to 7:30 p-m and will take both walk-in and drive-through clients. The authority says an additional centre in North Vancouver is expected to open in the next couple of weeks and operating hours in Richmond and other locations will also be increasing.

Hundreds of residents just south of Penticton have been ordered out of their homes and thousands more are on evacuation alert as an aggressive wildfire burns nearby. The Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen issued an evacuation order for more than 300 properties in the Heritage Hills area yesterday afternoon. The City of Penticton has warned residents of nearly 3700 properties on its southeast side to be ready to leave on short notice, and 116 properties in the Upper Carmi area are also on alert. A separate 18 hectare fire near Beverdell south of Carmi has also prompted an evacuation al

Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Réka Gustafson, B.C.’s deputy provincial health officer, have issued a joint statement regarding updates on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response in British Columbia. "Today, we are announcing 83 new cases, for a total of 4,677 cases in British Columbia. "There are 775 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 3,704 people who tested positive have recovered. "Currently, six individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, three of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation. As well, 2,326

Lawyers representing Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou are back in BC Supreme Court today fighting to win release of more confidential documents tied to the case. Meng's legal team says some of the documents relate to her detention at Vancouver's airport in December 2018 and could shed light on her claim that her rights were violated before her arrest. Meng is wanted in the US on fraud charges, which she and Huawei deny, and this chapter in her extradition battle began yesterday with Meng attending via phone link. The matter could continue all week and today's arguments will focus on the technica

The BC Wildfire Service says 79 wildfires have been sparked in the last two days, in the wake of a fierce lightning storm that moved across southern BC Sunday night. The wildfire service website says 74 per cent of the new fires were caused by lightning, including 14 of 15 reported on southern Vancouver Island. Most remain very small, with only a handful larger than a hectare, although a fire on the eastern shore of Sooke Lake, east of Langford, is listed at eight hectares and considered out of control. In all, 475 fires have been reported across B-C since the start of the fire season in Apri

Another hot day is unfolding across much of southern B-C, but Environment Canada has dropped heat warnings for all but the Fraser Canyon and Kootenay Lake regions. Temperatures above 35 degrees, with nighttime lows not falling below 18, will continue there for at least another day but the weather office is calling for slightly cooler conditions tonight. It's still set to be a scorcher for many areas with the mercury nudging the mid-30s in the Kamloops, Kelowna, Cranbrook and Trail areas. There's also the risk of more thunderstorms across southeastern B-C where the wildfire service rates wildf