British Columbia health officials are reporting the province's first knowncase of the U.K. COVID-19 variant. The affected individual returned from the U.K. on Dec. 15 to their home in the Island Health authority. The person tested positive four days later after developing symptoms during their quarantine. Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry say in a joint statement that the variant strain was detected through testing by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control. They say it's important to note that although the U.K. variant can spread faster, there's no in

Representatives of around 25 farmer organisations on Monday gave a memorandum to Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in support of the new farm laws.Today representatives from different farmers organizations from all over the country gave memorandum in support of the new farm bills and said these are in the interest of farmers and should not be taken back. They also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The farmer delegations met Tomar to convey support for the laws ahead of the next round of talks between the government and protesting farmers on December 30.The protesting farmers

In the ongoing farmers' protest against the new agri reform laws, volunteers are serving food to farmers in the large numbers at the Singhu border. The farmers' agitation has entered the second month. Adamant protesting farmers are still settled in and around Delhi border areas, despite severe cold.The farmers mainly from Punjab and Haryana are against the new farm laws. Centre's likely to hold sixth round of talks with the farmer unions soon.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the first doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine have landed in Canada. He tweeted the news with a photo of border agents watching workers preparing to unload a Federal Express cargo plane. Health Canada authorized the use of the vaccine just yesterday, making it the second vaccine to receive the regulator's approval after the Pfizer-BioNtech offering was approved on Dec. 9. Moderna is expected to deliver 168,000 doses by the end of next week. The federal government has ordered 40 million doses overall from Moderna, enough to vaccinate 20 million Canadians. Whi

California eclipsed two-million COVID-19 cases today as the US heads into a holiday season of travel and family gatherings that threaten to fuel the pandemic. It took 292 days for California to get to one-million confirmed infections. The next million were reported over a period of 44 days. Despite warnings from public health experts to stay home, more than 1.19 million travellers passed through US airport security checkpoints yesterday. COVID-19 has killed more than 327,000 Americans, at a rate of 3,000 per day for the past two weeks.

Both Quebec and Ontario set new records today for COVID-19 infections. Quebec reported 2,349 new cases and Ontario reported 2,447 cases. Ontario Premier Doug Ford sent out a tweet urging everyone to go out only if it's necessary, even before the entire province goes into lockdown on Saturday. Quebec is closing all non-essential businesses from tomorrow through January 11th. And Alberta is banning indoor and outdoor social gatherings in the face of rising infections and hospitalizations.

The Correctional Service of Canada says three inmates at Fraser Valley Institution recently tested positive for COVID-19, though it does not say when they were tested or whether their infections remain active. The service says in a news release an initial investigation shows the three inmates were part of a small group transferred from another region. It says the group has been in medical isolation and closely monitored by staff since arriving at the women's prison, which has multiple security levels. It's believed transmission of the illness occurred before they arrived. The correctional ser

The family of a man who was killed at a home in Kelowna, B.C., is appealing for anyone with information to speak with police investigating the 2009 homicide. Paulina Pekova says the holiday season is particularly difficult without her brother Joseph Pek, who was 38. She says Pek was a talented musician and athlete as well as a kind and gentle uncle to his two nephews. The family is offering a $5,000 reward leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for his stabbing death outside a Kelowna home. Peklova says Pek had a history with drugs and crime following multiple traumas

British Columbia's top doctor says COVID-19 cases in the province are levelling off after peaking in mid-November, though she warns now is not the time to relax public health rules. Dr. Bonnie Henry says the majority of cases are being traced to known infections and outbreaks, but keeping up with contact tracing is still a challenge, particularly in the hard-hit Fraser Health region. When presenting the latest modelling data, Henry showed the reproductive number for the illness has dipped slightly below one, meaning on average, someone who's infected may not transmit COVID-19 to anyone. She s