Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 should be a big, red, flashing part of the radar screen for anyone planning a trip outside Canada. Duclos says while Omicron is still relatively rare here, it is a different story in other countries, where governments are re-imposing lockdowns and tightening public health restrictions. And he's warning anyone thinking of leaving Canada for a winter vacation that they will face delays and hassles on their return. Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says there have been 87 confirmed cases of Omicro

B.C. is reporting 341 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 221,576 cases in the province.Note: The numbers of total and new cases are provisional due to a delayed data refresh and will be verified once confirmed.There are currently 2,915 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 216,185 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 220 individuals are currently in hospital and 73 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 24 hours, nine new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,378.The new deaths includ

British Columbia has recorded its highest-ever monthly number of suspected overdose deaths from toxic illicit drugs. A statement from the coroners' service says there were 201 fatalities in October from illicit drug toxicity, an average of about 6.5 people per day.It says the 1,782 overdose deaths recorded between January and October are already the highest ever recorded in a calendar year in B.C. Almost 80 per cent of those who died were male, and about 71 per cent of the fatalities were people between 30 and 59 years of age.The service says the powerful opioid fentanyl has been linked to 84

B.C. is reporting 379 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 221,235 cases in the province.There are 2,874 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 215,884 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 224 individuals are currently in hospital and 77 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 24 hours, six new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,369.The new deaths include:Fraser Health: twoNorthern Health: oneIsland Health: threeThere have been no new health-care facility outbreaks, for a total of five

Canada is joining the United States, the United Kingdon and Australia in a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics over human rights concerns. The announcement came after the White House, the Australian government and the UK government confirmed diplomatic boycotts of the Winter Olympics in February to protest Chinese human rights abuses. China has vowed to react with ``firm countermeasures.'' Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government has been talks with allies about it in recent months. The diplomatic moves by Canada, the U.S., Britain and Australia do not affect t

There are now five cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant confirmed in British Columbia. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says three of those who tested positive for the variant are fully vaccinated and two are unvaccinated, while all have mild or asymptomatic symptoms. She says the people range in age from 18 to 60 and all had been travelled to places like Nigeria and Egypt. Dr. Henry says the first case, which was confirmed on November 30th, involved someone who returned to BC before on-arrival testing was introduced at airports, and that person was tested later. She says more case

Delta police have posted a tweet and given information about a missing man who has been located deceased. Delta police posted a tweet: We have sad news to share. Unfortunately 21-year-old missing man Anmol JAGAT has been located deceased. Our thoughts are with his family and his loved ones. His death is not considered suspicious. Anmol Jagat was last seen on Oct. 24th He was last captured on video at 12:42 am, October 24 walking northbound in the 8100 block of 112A in North Delta. He was believed to have headed northbound on 112th after this. Any individuals or businesses with CCTV or dashcam

Over a three-day period, B.C. is reporting 946 new cases of COVID-19, including 15 new epi-linked cases, for a total of 220,530 cases in the province:Dec. 3-4: 351 new casesDec. 4-5: 311 new casesDec. 5-6: 284 new casesThere are currently 2,876 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 215,190 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 241 individuals are currently in hospital and 89 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 72 hours, 11 new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,362.The new deaths in

British Columbia's health minister says he isn't as worried about the newest COVID-19 variant, Omicron, because the focus needs to stay on the Delta variant, which is having a ``profound impact'' on the province. Adrian Dix says the Delta variant is disproportionately affecting those who haven't been vaccinated, citing more than 150 people, most of them unvaccinated, who have been moved from the Northern Health authority to southern hospitals. He says the transfers are weighing down the health-care system because most of those people are in critical condition and require teams of health-care