Health officials have declared COVID-19 outbreaks at two more Metro Vancouver hospitals after finding evidence the virus was transmitted within a medicine unit at both locations. A statement from Fraser Health says the outbreaks are in single units of Surrey Memorial Hospital and Chilliwack General Hospital. One patient at Surrey Memorial and five patients at Chilliwack General have tested positive for COVID-19. Those units have been closed to admissions, but Fraser Health says other units and the emergency rooms of both hospitals remain open. Information from Vancouver Coastal Health shows a

British Columbia health officials say the federal government's approval of two new vaccines is encouraging news and one more layer of protection to help get the province through the pandemic. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say in a statement that approval of the vaccines by Oxford-AstraZeneca and Verity-Serum Institute of India is an "exciting" step forward. The statement says the new vaccines are "fridge stable," making them easier to transport and distribute across the province. British Columbia announced 589 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday along w

Health Canada has approved the COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca, the third to be given the green light for national use.Canada has pre-ordered 20 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was co-developed by researchers at the University of Oxford.It will also receive up to 1.9 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through the global vaccine-sharing initiative known as COVAX by the end of June.Vaccines produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna had already been approved by Health Canada.Approximately 1.7 million doses of those formulas have been administered in Canada.Health Canada sen

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says rising case numbers and test positivity rates mean it's soon to lift COVID-19 restrictions. Dr. Henry says BC has seen its rolling seven-day average case numbers rise and there's potential to see rapid growth in cases if residents aren't careful. She adds BC is ramping up screening for variants of concern and aims to be testing 100 per cent of all COVID-positive samples starting next week to see if they're likely variants that should be sent on for further study. Dr. Henry reported 395 new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 78,673 cases in British

The Trudeau government is keeping mum on why the newly-minted chief of defence staff is being investigated for misconduct. Admiral Art McDonald has stepped aside for now. In the House of Commons today, Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole tried, but failed, to get answers about the investigation -- and whether there are any other probes going on in the military. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland acknowledged the investigation in the House of Commons, but revealed no details. She would only say the government takes misconduct allegations seriously. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan revealed lat

The Canadian Armed Forces is reeling this morning with news chief of the defence staff Admiral Art McDonald is being investigated for misconduct.Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan revealed late last night McDonald has voluntarily stepped aside while military police investigate.The stunning development comes just over a month after McDonald took over as commander of the Canadian military from Gen. Jonathan Vance, who is also under investigation after allegations of inappropriate behaviour.Vance has denied any wrongdoing and McDonald has not commented.Former naval reservist Marie-Claude Gagnon, who

BC health officials are reporting 456 new cases of COVID-19 today. Two additional deaths have also been announced, bringing the total to 1,338. There are 4,668 active cases in the province, including 237 people who are hospitalized with COVID-19. Sixty-four of those patients are in intensive care. To date, 230,875 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in B.C., 62,608 of which are second doses. There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks. The outbreak at Creekside Landing (Interior Health) is now over.

Two more units have been added to a COVID-19 outbreak declared at Vancouver General Hospital.A statement from Vancouver Coastal Health says outbreaks are underway on inpatient units T-14-G and T-11-G in the highrise tower of the hospital's Jim Pattison Pavilion.The health authority says the outbreaks are in addition to one declared Sunday in unit T-10-C in the same tower.The statement says, in total, 16 patients and 13 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19.Visits to all three units have been suspended, except for end-of-life compassionate visits, and the hospital says infection prev

British Columbia is expected to start informing people over age 80 about their vaccinations for COVID-19 starting next week as the province prepares to open mass clinics while doing more in-depth testing for variants. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says B.C. is in a phase of "vaccine hope and pandemic reality" but an age-based immunization plan will remain in place despite some calls to prioritize essential workers. Dr. Henry says the province is expanding its pool of immunizers to include dentists, midwives and paramedics before 172 sites open up to eventually offer a vaccine to