BC health officials say it's been one year since the first person in the province has died as a result of COVID-19, and since then there's been almost 1,400 other deaths. A joint statement from Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is reporting 550 new cases today and another two deaths. There are almost 5,000 active cases and of those, 249 people are in hospital, 68 of them in intensive care. There's been another 182 new cases linked to variants of concern for a total of 576 cases, many of them connected to the strain first found in the United Kingdom. Mor

A 33 year old former nanny on Vancouver Island has been handed an eight year prison term. Nanny is going to serve this term for abusing elementary schoolchildren in his care. Jonathan Robichaud was sentenced yesterday in BC Supreme Court in Victoria after pleading guilty last year to several charges related to three children from two Central Saanich families. In addition to the prison term, Robichaud must register as a sexual offender and abide by numerous conditions for 25 years after release, including restrictions on internet use and to stay away from places where children gather. In passi

The Transportation Safety Board says rain on the windshield may have played a part in a fiery helicopter crash in northwestern BC last August that killed the pilot. It happened August 17th near a worksite northwest of Stewart as heavy rain swept over the area where the Aberdeen Helicopters pilot was moving a dismantled drilling rig from one site to another. The TSB says as the rain arrived, the pilot flew out of the work area and tests indicate the helicopter had no mechanical issues and was under full power when GPS co-ordinates show it hit the upper edge of a nearby mountain seconds later a

Police say an itsy-bitsy intruder inside a vehicle in Newton caused a bit of a scramble and led a woman to cry out for help. Surrey RCMP say they received calls from the public after they saw a woman in distress Saturday afternoon. They say the woman opened the door of her white Toyota RAV-4 while it was moving to try and shoo the spider out. Police say they tracked down the man and woman in the vehicle. They confirmed there was no criminal activity, and they hadn't intended to cause alarm.

British Columbians eligible to make a COVID-19 vaccination appointment are being urged to keep trying if they failed to get through Monday on phone lines overwhelmed by calls.The Health Ministry confirms just under 15,000 appointments were booked on the first day residents over the age of 90 or Indigenous elders over 65 could make appointments.Only Fraser Health offered an online option for booking appointments and 8,722 were made there, while the Interior and Vancouver Island health authorities each recorded just under 2,500 bookings and residents in the north made just over 1,000.The minist

BC's top doctor says officials are working with faith leaders on a gradual return to in-person religious services, which have mostly been prohibited since November under COVID-19 restrictions. Doctor Bonnie Henry says she knows there are many important dates coming up in different faiths and the province will look at easing the rules to meet their specific needs while ensuring certain safety measures remain in place. She also advised post-secondary institutions to prepare for a full return to on-campus education this fall, with Advanced Education Minister Anne Kang saying the province will cr

Call centres open today across British Columbia to book COVID-19 vaccine appointments for some of the province's most elderly residents.B.C. says the vaccine call centres will open at 7 a.m. at the Fraser, Island, Interior, Northern and Vancouver Coastal health authorities to make appointments for people 90 years and older and Indigenous people who are 65 and older or identify as elders.Health authorities announced dozens of sites Sunday where B.C.'s most elderly residents will go to receive their vaccine.Island Health's pandemic planner Victoria Schmid says people 90 years old and older and I

A manslaughter charge has been laid following an investigation into the death of an off-duty police constable from Abbotsford, B.C. 55 year old Const. Allan Young died in July last year, several days after an altercation with another man while Young was visiting Nelson, B.C. Alex Willness, a 26 year old Castlegar resident, made his first appearance on the manslaughter charge last week and is scheduled to appear in a Nelson courtroom on Tuesday. A statement from the Nelson Police Department says Willness remains in custody. Young was placed on life support and died on July 22, almost a week af

In a statement issued to mark International Women's Day, Premier John Horgan says BC's recovery from COVID-19 must be rooted in equality, with opportunities available to all, regardless of gender or ethnicity. Horgan says BC has taken meaningful strides toward gender equality, but the pandemic has highlighted how much more work is needed. He says data shows women have shouldered much of the pandemic burden, with more women working in the hardest-hit sectors, coping with additional caregiving responsibilities for children or family members and facing a jump in reports of intimate partner and f