Athletes across BC will have more opportunities to play and compete as viaSport moves into the third phase of its safe return to sport guidelines today. ViaSport is the BC government's lead delivery agency for amateur sports programs that were curtailed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The province says the BC Centre for Disease Control has reviewed viaSport's latest guidelines that cover contact activities, competitions, high-performance training environments and travel. The guidelines offer additional training opportunities, increased group sizes depending on the type of activity, and

Residents who were prepared to leave more than 36-hundred properties threatened by a wildfire southeast of Penticton are no longer under evacuation alert as of this morning.The nearly one-week alert for the properties has been lifted after cooler weather on Sunday helped keep strong winds that threatened to push the fire north toward the city at bay.Donny van Dyk, director of Penticton's emergency operation centre, says B-C Wildfire and regional partners determined the threat caused by the so-called Christie Mountain fire has subsided.An additional 300 or so properties north of Okanagan Falls

Children in British Columbia with extraordinary health needs that require complex care are to receive support at a single site scheduled to open in Vancouver.Health Minister Adrian Dix says the Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children will become a transition centre to help children with complex care needs. Sunny Hill is to relocate to the main campus of the B.C. Children's and Women's Hospitals at the end of August as the third and final phase of its redevelopment.Dix says the Vancouver transition centre will be the first facility in Canada providing a comprehensive range of supports at a singl

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 90 new cases, for a total of 4,915 cases in British Columbia. "There are 824 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, 2,594 people who are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and 3,889 people who tested positive have recovered. "Currently, 13 individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, five of whom are in

The Vancouver Canucks could make a rare advance to the next round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with a victory over last year's champions, the St. Louis Blues, in Edmonton tonight. But officials in BC are urging sports fans to ``stay out of the penalty box'' as they enjoy the game. Surrey RCMP say in a release that, in past years, fans have gathered at the intersection of 72nd Street and Scott Road to celebrate a victory. Police say officers will join them tonight to ensure everyone is peaceful, liquor and other laws are respected and crowds maintain appropriate physical distancing to slow the

One man has critical injuries and another is listed in serious condition following a fight in Surrey. RCMP say the fight, involving around one dozen people, broke out shortly before 9 last night. Corporal Eleanor Sturko says both men were hurt during the melee but she doesn't say what caused their injuries, what happened to the other combatants or why the fight occurred. The serious crime unit has taken over the case and anyone with information about the assaults is urged to contact police.

As the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 continues to climb in BC, especially among young people, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says a party is ``not worth someone's life.'' Farnworth says $2,000 tickets can now be issued to the owner of a home where a large party is underway or to the organizer of an event such as a drum circle if such gatherings violate health rules. $200 tickets can also be issued to anyone refusing to leave a gathering or who is abusive to staff trying to maintain physical distancing rules. Farnworth says a small minority of people are either wilfully ignorant

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 80 new cases for a total of 4,825 cases in British Columbia. "There are 780 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, 2,574 people who are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and 3,845 people who tested positive have recovered. "Currently, 11 individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, four of whom are in int

The Surrey RCMP Robbery Unit has arrested a 16 year old youth for a string of robberies that allegedly involved the use of the online marketplace app, Letgo. The four robberies occurred between March 15, 2020 and June 27, 2020, in Whalley. Each of these incidents took place during daylight hours and were the result of meet ups arranged online for the purpose of buying high-value cellphones. During the encounters, the victims were allegedly sprayed with bear mace and robbed of their cellphones.With the help of witnesses, the Surrey RCMP Robbery Unit identified the suspect and on August 13, 2020