B.C.’s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry and Minister of Health, Adrian Dix have issued a joint statement regarding updates on the COVID-19 response in British Columbia. 542 new cases, have been reported for a total of 81,909 cases in B.C. There are 4,654 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. 246 individuals are currently hospitalized, 64 of whom are in intensive care. There have been 18 new confirmed COVID-19 cases that are variants of concern in our province, for a total of 200 cases. This includes 176 cases of the U.K. variant and 24 cases of the South Africa variant. 289,80

A driver has been killed and her passenger was badly hurt in a head-on crash in North Vancouver. RCMP say the collision occurred late Tuesday night on Low Level Road. Police say a vehicle with a lone male inside crossed the centre line, hitting the vehicle with the woman and her passenger. By the time emergency services arrived, the man's vehicle was on fire, although he had been removed before the fire sparked. All three were taken to hospital, where police say the female driver was declared dead, her passenger remains in critical condition and the male has serious injuries. Police say alcoh

The Surrey RCMP General Investigation Unit is investigating a shooting in Newton after officers responded to reports of gunfire Tuesday night in the 8800-block of 140B Street. Police say shots were fired from a dark-coloured vehicle at an individual who fled in another vehicle before officers arrived around 10:30 p.m. Investigators believe the shooting was targeted and have identified the intended victim, who is known to police. No injuries were reported. Neighbours told Connect News Team the gunfire has left them uneasy about safety in their community. Harbhajan Singh, who has lived on the s

The BC government says it has issued 1,366 violation tickets under its ongoing state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That includes 199 tickets worth 2,300 dollars each to owners or organizers breaking restrictions on gathering events, adding up to nearly 460,000 dollars in total. The Ministry of Public Safety says in a statement that a further 1,099 tickets worth 230 dollars each have been issued to individuals who refused to comply with law enforcement. 101 tickets totalling nearly 330,000 dollars have been issued to people breaking federal quarantine rules. Since the start of the

BC's top doctor says the decision to delay second doses of COVID-19 vaccine by four months is based on scientific evidence and real-world data. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the data show protection from a single dose is upwards of 90 per cent and lasts for several months. She says delaying second doses will reduce mortality and severe illness for those most at risk while maximizing the benefit of vaccines for everyone. Dr. Henry adds that the approval of Oxford-AstraZeneca's vaccine, which can be kept in the fridge, means it's possible everyone in BC could receive their fir

Four hospitals around Metro Vancouver have now been forced to close units because of COVID-19 infections. Fraser Health says 10 patients in one unit of Eagle Ridge Hospital in Port Moody have tested positive for the illness. That unit has been closed to all admissions, transfers and visits until further notice. The health authority said Sunday that outbreaks had occurred at separate units of Surrey Memorial and Chilliwack General hospitals, affecting a total of six patients. Vancouver Coastal Health says three units in the highrise tower of Vancouver General Hospital have also been closed sin

An autopsy is expected after the death of an 11 year old boy severely injured several days ago at his family's home east of Vancouver. Agassiz RCMP said Monday that the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team had taken over the case because the boy was not expected to survive. Sgt. Frank Jang, spokesman for the homicide team, says the child died later that day from extensive injuries, but few other details are being released. The boy had been rushed to hospital in critical condition Friday after being injured in his home in the community of Harrison Mills, about 100 kilometres east of Vancouve

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says the market is heating up so fast that home sales in the region doubled between January and February and have climbed by more than 70 per cent since last year. The board says February sales in the B.C. region totalled 3,727, a 73.3 per cent increase from the 2,150 sales recorded the year before and a 56 per cent spike from the 2,389 homes sold the month before. February sales were so strong that REBGV says they were 42.8 per cent higher than the month's 10 year sales average. The board says the region saw 5,048 new listings in February, up from 4

Surrey RCMP is providing a second update regarding to the investigation of an assault with a weapon that injured a youth at a high school in Newton. The third suspect has turned themselves in to police. On March 1, 2021, two other suspects were arrested. All three suspects were held in police custody and will appear in court today. All of the suspects are youth, and are not previously known to police. The initial indications are that the assault is related to an on-going dispute among parties known to one another. This incident is not related to gang activity and there is no indication of an o