Health officials in British Columbia are advising against all non essential travel outside of Canada including to the United States. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says anyone who chooses to travel outside of Canada will be required to stay away from work or school for 14 days upon their return. She is also recommending that organizers cancel any events for 250 or more people. Health Minister Adrian Dix says schools will remain open but officials will consult over the spring break to determine appropriate policies and procedures. Henry and Dix made the announcement as the province

Organizers have cancelled the 2020 Surrey Vaisakhi Parade, one of Metro Vancouver’s largest annual gatherings, citing COVID-19 health risks and advice from provincial officials. The event, hosted by Gurdwara Dashmesh Darbar, had been scheduled for April 25 and typically draws more than 500,000 people, making it the largest Vaisakhi parade outside India. Parade organizers said the decision followed consultations with Fraser Health and the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, adding that “public safety remains the highest priority.” The cancellation will have ripple effects across Surrey, wher

President Donald Trump says he is suspending all travel from Europe to the U.S. for 30 days beginning Friday as he seeks to combat a viral pandemic.Trump made the announcement Wednesday in an Oval Office address to the nation, blaming the European Union for not acting quickly enough to address the novel coronavirus and saying U.S. clusters were ``seeded'' by European travellers.Trump says the restrictions won't apply to the United Kingdom and the U.S. will monitor the situation to determine if travel can be reopened earlier.The White House has also cancelled a planned trip by the president to

Justin Trudeau and his wife Sofie Trudeau are in self-isolation after she exhibited flu-like symptoms on her return from London, U.K. The First Leaders meeting scheduled to begin today has been cancelled after this announcement. Trudeau was supposed to meet the premiers and indigenous leaders in Ottawa today for a two-day meeting to discuss various issues including COVID-19, national unity and financial crisis. Prime Minister Trudeau is not exhibiting any symptoms as of now and is isolating himself just for precaution as Sofie Trudeau awaits her test results.NDP leader Jagmeet Singh also tweet

British Columbia now has 46 cases of COVID-19, including its first one on Vancouver Island. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says seven of the newly diagnosed people include two workers at a long term care home where four other employees have been infected. The North Vancouver facility is also where a man in his 80s died earlier this week. Henry says three of the new cases are linked to Egypt and include a visitor in his 70s whose relatives in the Fraser Valley are now also in isolation. She says the province will put more focus on enhancing prevention of the novel coronavirus at lo

The World Health Organization says COVID-19 is officially a pandemic.WHO director general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the announcement at a news conference in Geneva, but is urging calm, saying with prevention, preparedness and political leadership it can be managed.He says calling the situation a pandemic doesn't change the organization's assessment of the threat from the illness or what countries should do to prepare and combat it.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government is creating a one billion dollar COVID-19 response fund. He says he wants all premiers and Canadians to know that the government will make sure they have everything they need to keep everyone safe.Trudeau says the government is also waiving the current one-week waiting period for employment insurance. He says ``we get it and we're on it.''Trudeau says today's announcement is significant, but that the government is prepared to do more if need be.

Seven additional people in British Columbia have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the provincial total to 39. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says two of the new cases are health care workers at the same long term care facility where a small outbreak has already been identified. A total of eight cases are now linked to the Lynn Valley Care Centre, including two family members or close contacts of a health-care worker. Henry says the initial health-care worker who tested positive at the seniors facility has been admitted to hospital for monitoring, adding that no additional re

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne confirms there were 228 Canadian passengers and crew from the Grand Princess cruise ship who arrived this morning at CFB Trenton, Ontario.There were 237 Canadians aboard the ship that had multiple cases of the novel coronavirus.Champagne says some stayed in Oakland, California due to unrelated medical conditions and that some of the Canadian crew members who tested positive are still aboard the ship.He didn't say how many of the seven Canadian crew members have been diagnosed with the virus.