COVID-19 restrictions in British Columbia have been extended to Jan. 8 as the province continues to experience high levels of transmission and community spread of the virus. Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, says restrictions on gatherings are being extended. All worship services and community and social events remain suspended, along with high-intensity group fitness, such as interval training, hot yoga and spin classes. The latest order includes an exemption for drive-thru events like light festivals and drop-off toy drives. Dr. Henry says 2,020 new cases of the illness have

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the first COVID-19 vaccine doses are on track to arrive this month, as tough new measures took effect in Prince Edward Island and Ontario hit a new daily case record today. Trudeau says Ottawa has reached an agreement with Pfizer to have up to 249,000 doses delivered, pending Health Canada approval, and that the first shipments could come next week. In Atlantic Canada, Prince Edward Island entered what it's calling a two-week "circuit-breaker" lockdown after seven new cases of the virus were reported over the weekend. The province reported four new ca

The military, health workers and government officials will go through a practice run today of the complex plan to deliver COVID-19 vaccines across the country.The first vaccine, made by Pfizer-BioNtech, could be approved for use in Canada as early as this week. And Major-General Dany Fortin, who's leading the military through the vaccine distribution process, says the dry run is intended to get everyone involved comfortable with the intense requirements of handling a vaccine that has to be kept below minus 70 Celcius at all times.The national operations centre quarterbacking the effort is loo

After its fifth round of talks on Saturday with farmer group leaders remained inconclusive, the Centre announced another meeting on December 9. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar today reassured the agitating farmers that central government is ready to resolve all their issues. He also said that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system will continue and there is "no threat to it." Addressing a press conference after the meeting at Vigyan Bhawan, Tomar said: "We have said that the MSP will continue, there is no threat to it. It is baseless to doubt this. Still, if someone is suspicio

British Columbia's top doctor and the health minister are urging the public to slow the spread of COVID-19 this weekend by limiting any festive gatherings to immediate households. Dr. Bonnie Henry and Adrian Dix say 711 new infections have been recorded in the province and 11 more people have died, for a total of 492 fatalities. British Columbia is recording 711 new cases, bringing the total number of active cases to 9,050. They say in a joint statement that B.C. is continuing to see a significant surge in community transmission so all public health orders must be followed as more than 36,000

The prime minister is not commenting on a Wall Street Journal report that the US Department of Justice has approached Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou with a plea deal of sorts. When pressed today, Justin Trudeau would only repeat what he has said in the past: that he is hopeful of winning the release of two Canadians caught up in the diplomatic standoff that started with Meng's arrest. Meng's 2018 arrest at Vancouver's airport at the behest of the US sparked the diplomatic standoff, and is widely believed to be behind China's decision days later to detain Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kov

The rate of job growth continued to slow in November with the economy adding 62,000 jobs, down from 84,000 in October. The gains were mostly focused in full-time work with a gain of 99,000 jobs, offset somewhat by a decline in part-time work of 37,000 positions, Statistics Canada reported Friday. The average economist estimate had been for a gain of 20,000 jobs and an unchanged unemployment rate, according to financial data firm Refinitiv. The gains in November left the country 574,000 jobs short of recouping the approximately three million jobs lost from lockdowns in March and April that sen

BC is reporting 694 new cases of COVID-19, pushing the number of active cases past 9,000 for the first time. Provincial heath officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has also announced another 12 deaths, raising the total to 481. Dr. Henry says the province is continuing to make progress on Operation Immunize and hopes to begin the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines in the coming weeks. But she says there will only be limited amounts at first for those most at risk of severe illness and deaths. British Columbia's top doctor says seniors in long-term care homes and hospitals will be the first to get a vaccine ag

Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Howard Njoo says there is light at the end of the tunnel. Njoo says Health Canada is expected to approve COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use early in the new year, triggering one of the most ambitious vaccination programs in Canadian history. He says there will eventually be enough vaccine doses for every Canadian. The military is going to conduct a practice run on Monday to ensure the plan to distribute vaccines will work. News of the vaccine program comes as Ontario reported a near-record 1,824 new COVID-19 infections and Quebec reported 1,470 new case