The expected arrival of more than one million COVID-19 vaccine doses this month has British Columbia health officials forecasting shorter waits between first and second doses for more people. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the increasing vaccine shipments could see the estimated 16-week interval between the first and second shots reduced. But Dr. Henry says it's still too early to concretely estimate the possible difference in wait times other than saying all people in B.C. could get their first vaccines before Canada Day. She says B.C. expects to receive 1.1 million doses of

BC is conducting another test of the emergency alert system on your wireless devices to improve public safety in the event of an emergency. The test is this Wednesday at 1:55 pm after last year's test was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you want to make sure you'll receive such an alert, your devices need to be on and can't be on do-not-disturb or airplane mode. The alert will also be broadcast on radio and TV. Alert Ready is a Canada-wide system that allows government officials in each province and territory to issue public safety alerts through major television and radio broa

Liberal MLA Mike Bernier says he has tested positive for COVID-19, making him the first elected member of the legislature to report having the virus. Bernier, who represents the riding of Peace River South, posted on social media that he and his family are self-isolating at home after testing positive for COVID-19. Bernier was vaccinated for the illness last Monday but says he's been told he was exposed before then and was not infectious while working at the legislature between April 19th and 22nd. Bernier calls the diagnosis a shock and says he will be spending the next several days with his

IHIT is investigating a homicide of a 19-year-old man who died of a gunshot wound in Surrey. On April 30, 2021 just after 1:30 p.m., a 19-year-old man arrived in a Surrey hospital with a gunshot wound and subsequently died of his injuries. This is believed to be an isolated incident with no further risk to the public. It does not appear to be related to any of the other recent acts of violence. No arrests have been made in connection with this case as of yet. IHIT on Twitter: IHIT is investigating a homicide of a 19yo man who died of a gunshot wound in Surrey. On April 30, the man arrived in S

The Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training says it has temporarily shut down two British Columbia websites after both appear to have been compromised. The home pages of StudentAidBC and LearnLiveBC were altered Sunday and replaced with a statement allegedly from a hacker group. The affected sites offer application assistance or details about scholarships, grants, bursaries, loans and other financial programs for post-secondary students. A statement from the ministry says it has been alerted to the problem and is investigating, along with the Office of the Chief Information Officer

One of the largest and most popular summer celebrations in Vancouver has been cancelled for the second year in a row. The Vancouver Fireworks Festival society says the three-day Honda Celebration of Light fireworks event has been called off for 2021, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement, the society says the festival will be back in 2022, with dates already set for July 23, 27 and 30. In years past, roughly 400,000 people crowded the shores of Vancouver's English Bay each night of the festival to watch the fireworks. The event was also cancelled last year, which would have bee

RCMP say a suspect is in custody following a shooting yesterday in Burnaby that seriously injured a 25 year old woman. Police say the 43 year old man was arrested hours after the incident and at a residence in Burnaby. They say they believe the shooting was targeted and isolated, and they have no evidence linking it to the Lower Mainland gang conflict. Police also say the woman is now in stable condition and her injuries are no longer believed to be life-threatening. Burnaby RCMP on Twitter: #BurnabyFrontline officers have arrested a 43-year-old Burnaby man in relation to this morning's shoot

A provincial corrections officer has been identified as the victim of a fatal shooting in Delta, B.C.The victim has been identified as Bikramdeep Randhawa, 29, of Surrey, B.C.Delta Police say in a news release they are considering the daylight shooting outside the Scottsdale Centre mall Saturday to be targeted based on behaviour by the suspects, but the motive is not known.They say investigators are looking at all angles, including that it was a case of mistaken identity, that it related to the man's personal life or that it was linked to his occupation.Police say they are in contact with oth

Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, have issued a joint statement regarding updates on the COVID-19 response in British Columbia. "Today, we are reporting 740 new cases, for a total of 129,482 cases in British Columbia."There are 7,886 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, with 11,727 people under public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases. "Of the active cases, 511 individuals are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 174 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-