Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps says council is prepared to quickly approve a plan to give restaurants more room for physical distancing by enlarging their outdoor space. Helps says the COVID-19 recovery plan would allow restaurants and pubs to expand open-air dining to sidewalks, parking lots and streets closed to traffic. She says staff will be urged to find ways to have the plan in place as the industry prepares to welcome back customers later this month. Vancouver city council is also preparing to debate the issue of making more room for restaurants.

Provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry is reporting 23 new cases of COVID-19 since Saturday and another death. That raises the total cases in the province to 2,352, with 130 deaths. Henry says if the province continues with such low numbers, it will be ready to move to phase two of the pandemic restart plan next week. She also says she got outside on the weekend and found most people were following physical distancing rules. Despite a small minority seen at crowded beaches and parks.

B.C. is in a better position to chart a long-term vision for the province according to the final report of the Emerging Economy Task Force. The 14-member task force has made 25 recommendations to help B.C. navigate global trends and technological advancements over the next 10 to 25 years. The report will also be a valuable resource to help inform the province's COVID-19 pandemic economic recovery. The recommendations are presented within five key strategic priorities:* embracing technology and innovation* leveraging B.C.'s green economy* building a highly skilled and adaptable workforce* ensu

British Columbia reported 15 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the provincial total to 2,330 positive cases of the virus. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says two people have died, which brings the death toll to 129. She says the two deaths are people who were residents of long-term care homes in the Vancouver area. Henry says the number of people who have recovered from COVID-19 has increased to 1,659, which amounts to 71 per cent of those who tested positive for the virus. Henry says on Mother's Day, she is asking families to honour their mothers by keeping them safe by avoiding close

People in Metro Vancouver can rest assured that they will be able to get back to work as the Province of B.C. and TransLink announced their commitment to ensure transit service is available as British Columbians safely restart the provinceand its economy in the coming weeks and months. The Province and TransLink are working on a comprehensive solution to address the major financial impacts that TransLink, like many transit agencies across the country, has incurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Given the progress in these discussions, TransLink and its operating companies will suspend the servic

British Columbia Finance Minister Carole James says she doesn't want to sugar coat what will be a hard road ahead as labour force figures show the province lost a quarter of a million jobs in April. Combined with jobless figures in March, almost 400,000 people were unemployed.James says nearly half of the job losses were in food services and the wholesale and retail sectors.B.C.'s unemployment rate jumped to 11.5 per cent in April, but remains below the national rate of 13 percent. James says it's too early to say what impact the COVID-19 pandemic will have on B.C.'s budget, but her quarterly

BC is reporting 33 new cases of COVID-19 and two new deaths. That raises the total number of cases to 2,288 with 126 deaths, while more than 1,500 people have fully recovered. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says everyone is looking forward to a new phase after the May long weekend when some COVID-19 restrictions are eased. But she says just because it's allowed, doesn't mean everyone should expand their social bubbles or reopen businesses depending on their own unique circumstances.

The B.C. government is announcing what it describes as an ``ambitious plan'' to rescheduled thousands of cancelled surgeries and increase capacity in the health-care system. The government estimates it will take 17 to 24 months to clear a backlog of 30,000 patients whose surgeries have been cancelled or weren't scheduled because COVID-19 health restrictions. It says those patients joined or remained on an existing backlog, bringing the total waiting list to 93,000. The first year of the plan will cost $250 million, and includes hiring additional staff, expanding hours, opening new and unused

Overdose deaths in British Columbia jumped in March compared with February, and marked the first time the monthly death toll exceeded 100 in the past year. The BC Coroners Service says 113 people died in March of suspected illicit drug toxicity, which is a three per cent dip from March of last year but represents a 61 per cent increase from February. It says the last time there were more than 100 deaths in a month was in March 2019. The service says 76 per cent of those who have died from illicit overdose deaths this year were men, and the Northern Health authority has the highest rate of ove