Fraser Health has declared new outbreaks of COVID-19 at a meat processing facility in Surrey, B.C., and two area long-term care homes. The health authority says evidence of transmission was found among staff at J&L Beef Ltd., where 13 people have tested positive for the illness so far. It says public health workers first became aware of a potential outbreak 10 days ago, after receiving a positive lab test from an employee on Oct. 8. Fraser Health says it's working with the facility to strengthen COVID-19 mitigation strategies. It says one staff member at the The Village, an assiste

BC has had 155 new cases of COVID-19. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and deputy health minister Stephen Brown say there are 1,513 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Another 3,713 are being monitored after an identified exposure to known cases. There has been one more COVID-19 related death, for a total of 251 deaths in British Columbia. 155 people have tested positive in the province, bringing B.C.'s total to 11,189. An outbreak of COVID-19 at the main Tim Hortons restaurant in Merritt, B.C., has set off a voluntary closure of the restaurant. The Interior Health authority

The man who quit as the BC Liberal party candidate in Chilliwack-Kent yesterday is now running as an Independent in the same riding. Laurie Throness lost the Liberal representation after he said during an all-candidates meeting that the NDP plan to offer free birth control had a whiff of past eugenics experiments to stop poor people from having more children. Throness announced on his Facebook page that he has always spoken with his heart and conscience and many people have urged him to stay in the race. Elections BC says his name will remain under the Liberal banner on the ballot, but Throne

The remains of a missing 35 year old Nakusp man have been found, more than a year after he disappeared. RCMP Corporal Jesse O'Donaghey says the body of Christopher Sanford was found October 10th by a couple hiking the shoreline of Upper Arrow Lake in Needles, about 60 kilometres south of Nakusp. Sanford was reported missing on August 5th of last year and his abandoned pickup truck was found a short time later in Fauquier, not far from Needles. Police say the family has been informed and investigators are now trying to determine if any criminality is involved.

The annual flu vaccination campaign has begun as officials in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health authorities remind residents across BC that a flu shot is especially important this year as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Fraser Health launched its campaign today while Vancouver Coastal says clinics will open later this month and shots are available through some family doctors, many local pharmacists, walk-in clinics and at public health influenza clinics. Locations of all BC clinics or pharmacies where the vaccine is available are listed on the Immunize BC (dot) ca website under ``find

Environment Canada says as much as 20 centimetres of snow could blanket parts of eastern BC by this afternoon and it warns of potentially hazardous conditions, especially through mountain passes. Snowfall warnings cover higher elevations of the Shuswap, Columbia, Yoho, Yellowhead and Kinbasket regions north to the Peace River area, although the northern edge of the system is easing and only another five centimetres is expected around Tumbler Ridge and the Yellowhead Pass. The weather office says snow should change to rain and then taper off this evening, and it says heavy rain that drenched t

The more than 700,000 people who have asked for a vote-by-mail package in British Columbia's election should get their ballots into the post. Saturday is the deadline recommended by Elections BC because the ballots must be received no later than 8 p.m. on election day, Oct. 24. Those who don't mail in their votes in time can drop off the completed package in person at district electoral offices, voting places and some Service BC locations. Information on the Elections BC website shows about 25 per cent of the 717,000 ballots sent out have been returned. The mail-out ballots requested for the

The BC Green party says it has set the record for its best fundraising month ever and October is only half over. A statement from the party says between October first and the 15th, just over 441-thousand dollars has been raised, about two-thousand dollars more than the previous record set in April 2017, during the last provincial election. More than 100-thousand dollars of the newly raised funds has come in since Tuesday, when Leader Sonia Furstenau represented the Greens at the televised leaders' debate. The party says another record has also been shattered because donors have already contri

British Columbia's election campaign continues today after a turbulent day for the Liberals.The B.C. Liberals announced Thursday that Laurie Throness would not be representing the party in Chilliwack-Kent after making comments at an all-candidates meeting comparing free birth control to eugenics. Throness has been a member of the legislature since 2013, and his name and party affiliation will remain on the ballot for the Oct. 24 election.The campaign saw NDP Leader John Horgan and Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson take verbal shots at each over in a radio debate on Thursday, as each criticized