BC is reporting 564 new cases of COVID-19 and four additional deaths. A total of 1,376 people have now died in the province due to the pandemic. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is also reporting 46 new cases of COVID variants of concern, raising the total to 246. The bulk of the cases, 218 are the variant first seen in the UK and the remaining 28 cases are the South Africa variant. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says BC will deploy the newly-approved AstraZeneca vaccine to first responders and other essential workers. Dr. Henry says doing so will move up the vaccination

A panel of experts says up to 80 per cent of Canadians over 16 could get a single dose of COVID-19 vaccine by the end of June, if governments extend the interval between the two doses to four months. Deputy federal public health officer Doctor Howard Njoo says the move is based on the most recent data on how vaccines are working.Canada is now on track to receive a total of 6.5 million vaccine doses by the end of this month. That's 500,000 more than originally forecast. Health officials in Alberta, BC and Newfoundland and Labrador have said they are extending that interval to four months, while

Unifor president Jerry Dias says Air Canada is promising to refund passengers whose flights were cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic.Dias says the airline has made the commitment repeatedly during negotiations with the federal government over an aid package for the battered sector.He says he spoke with Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau last night, confirming the pledge.Dias says roughly 4,000 of the union's 15,000 aviation workers remain fully employed a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, lending urgency to discussions in Ottawa.Air Canada and the Finance Department did not respond immediately

B.C.’s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry and Minister of Health, Adrian Dix have issued a joint statement regarding updates on the COVID-19 response in British Columbia. 542 new cases, have been reported for a total of 81,909 cases in B.C. There are 4,654 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. 246 individuals are currently hospitalized, 64 of whom are in intensive care. There have been 18 new confirmed COVID-19 cases that are variants of concern in our province, for a total of 200 cases. This includes 176 cases of the U.K. variant and 24 cases of the South Africa variant. 289,80

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expressing optimism that his government's timeline for getting a vaccine into the arm of every Canadian who wants one can be accelerated. He says the federal government's September timeline didn't factor in the arrival of new vaccines such as the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot, which was approved last week. Trudeau notes that a change in the public health guidance regarding the time allowed between the first and second doses of a vaccine could also affect Canada's rollout. Health officials in B-C and Newfoundland and Labrador have said they are extending that interva

A Canadian judge has found guilty a man who admitted using a van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto.Alek Minassian faced 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder.The April 23, 2018, attack drew attention to an online world of sexual loneliness, rage and misogyny.His lawyer argued he didn't know what he was doing was wrong because he has autism spectrum disorder, a stance that angled autism rights advocates.Justice Anne Molloy said Wednesday the man's lawyers failed to prove he was not criminally responsible.

BC's top doctor says the decision to delay second doses of COVID-19 vaccine by four months is based on scientific evidence and real-world data. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the data show protection from a single dose is upwards of 90 per cent and lasts for several months. She says delaying second doses will reduce mortality and severe illness for those most at risk while maximizing the benefit of vaccines for everyone. Dr. Henry adds that the approval of Oxford-AstraZeneca's vaccine, which can be kept in the fridge, means it's possible everyone in BC could receive their fir

A House of Commons committee is unanimously urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to promise he won't call a federal election while the COVID-19 pandemic rages across Canada. In a report by the procedure and House affairs committee, even Liberal members supported a recommendation calling for a commitment that there will be no election during the pandemic, unless Trudeau's minority Liberal government is defeated on a confidence vote. The committee makes no similar call for opposition parties to promise not to trigger an election during the pandemic by voting non-confidence in the government. Ho

The federal Conservatives say they're worried about vaccine hesitancy among seniors because of conflicting advice on the use of the recently-approved Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Tory MP Michelle Rempel Garner says the advice is confusing. A national panel of vaccine experts says provinces should not use the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on seniors. But Health Canada says it can be used on Canadians aged 65 or older. Michelle Rempel Garner on Twitter: We have called for an emergency meeting to understand why Health Canada is recommending use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in seniors when the