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 862 new cases, for a total of 121,751 cases in British Columbia. "There are 8,906 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, with 13,135 people under public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases. A further 111,039 people who tested positive have recovered. "Of the active cases, 483 individuals are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 163 of whom are in intens

Surrey RCMP is pleased to welcome Constable Sarbjit Sangha to our Communications and Media Relations Unit as Media Relations Officer. Cst. Sangha joins the Media Relations Unit from the Surrey RCMP Drug Unit where she has spent the past 10 years as an investigator, most recently focussing on proceeds of crime investigations. She has spent her entire 14-year career in Surrey working Frontline patrols and Major Crime. Born in Punjab, she immigrated to Canada in 1997, where she learned English and pursued the dream she had since she was a little girl of becoming a police officer. Cst. Sangha is

The BC Wildfire Service says a wildfire in the southern Interior is still burning out of control. The service says 42 firefighters were at the scene yesterday, 18 kilometres northwest of Merritt. Two helicopters and two pieces of heavy equipment are also being used to bring the one-square-kilometre fire under control. An evacuation alert issued Sunday by the Thompson Nicola Regional District remains in place, affecting 54 properties in Canford and the Miller Estates Subdivision. BC Wildfire Service on Twitter: The #BCWildfire Service continues to respond to the Petit Creek wildfire (K60293).

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has granted Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou's request to delay the final leg in her extradition hearings, days before they were set to begin. Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes says she will deliver reasons for her decision in writing in the next week or so and a date to resume proceedings will be determined later. The hearings were scheduled to begin Monday but Meng's lawyers said they needed more time to review documents related to the case obtained through a Hong Kong court. They asked Holmes on Monday to adjourn proceedings until Aug. 3, a delay they argued wo

Health officials are urging eligible British Columbians to register online for a vaccine in order to reduce growing pressure on health-care workers getting "pushed to the limits" at hospitals. Provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say those aged 35 and up can now register for a vaccine as part of the province's age-based vaccination stream. Dix and Dr. Henry say 849 more people have become infected with COVID-19 and one more person has died for a total of 1,539 fatalities since the pandemic began. They say 456 people are in hospital and 148 of them are i

The provincial deficit is predicted to hit a record this year with billions of dollars in new spending promised for infrastructure and supports for families and businesses. Finance Minister Selina Robinson forecasts a 9.7-billion-dollar deficit this fiscal year and says it may take seven to nine years to balance the books. She says the province will help the recovery with 8.7 billion dollars in infrastructure spending over three years that will create 85 thousand jobs. Another 1.6 billion dollars is promised for poverty reduction strategies and an extra 3.1 billion for the health-care and men

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says details are still being arranged, but travel restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19 will not include random stops. A statement from Farnworth's office says the restrictions are meant to discourage recreational travel and will include checks at ferry terminals and along major highways out of Metro Vancouver. He says the rules are not meant as punishment and his ministry is also working to ensure racialized communities are not unfairly affected. Travel regulations were announced for the province yesterday and will remain in effect until

The Fraser Health authority says it will be vaccinating residents 40 years and older in a variety of neighbourhoods it has deemed to be high-risk for COVID-19. Dr. Victoria Lee, president and CEO of the health authority, says vaccinating residents in certain neighbourhoods in Surrey, North Delta and Langley will help reduce the burden being placed on hospitals due to COVID-19. Lee estimates 50 to 70 non-essential surgeries have been cancelled and hospitals in the region are at 96 per cent capacity. As of this morning, there were an estimated 229 COVID-19 patients in Fraser Health hospitals. D

Former BC premier Christy Clark spent the morning testifying before BC's money laundering inquiry. Clark led the Liberal government between 2011 and 2017, a period when several NDP reports say a rapid growth in money laundering occurred in BC's casinos, real estate and luxury car industries. Clark testified she first heard about a spike in suspicious cash through BC casinos in 2015 and says her government acted quickly to implement a report recommending changes to anti-money laundering strategies. The NDP ordered inquiry is examining how money laundering flourished, and Clark says confirmatio