Those who are pregnant in British Columbia have now been designated a priority population to receive COVID-19 vaccine. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says data shows pregnant people experience severe illness from COVID-19 at a rate similar to those who are in their 50s. She says prioritizing people who are pregnant and 16 years and older for vaccination will help protect them, their babies and the wider community. B.C. has recorded 697 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 132,353, along with one new death. There are 7,161 active COVID-19 cases, with 486 people hospitalized. More

The British Columbia Conservation Officer Service says a woman has been airlifted to hospital with serious injuries after being attacked by a cougar. The service posted on Twitter that the attack happened Tuesday morning at the woman's remote property west of Agassiz in the Fraser Valley, about 110 kilometres east of Vancouver. It says the conservation service's predator attack team responded to the scene, as did paramedics and the RCMP. B.C. Emergency Health Services says in a statement it received a call just before 8:15 a.m. about the attack along a forest service road and deployed an air a

The police chief in Delta, B.C., is offering comfort to community members following a spate of public shootings in the Lower Mainland, saying officers across the region are working together to solve the crimes. Chief Neil Dubord acknowledges many residents are feeling anxious after a corrections officer was gunned down in a brazen attack outside the Scottsdale Centre mall on Saturday afternoon. That was followed by a shooting outside another shopping centre in Langley, B.C., on Monday, although the two incidents have not been linked. There was also a targeted attack Sunday in Burnaby on a wom

Increasing values are prompting homeowners to sell, but the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says more supply is still needed to meet active market demands. The board reports there were 4,908 residential home sales in its 15 regions in April, a 342 per cent increase from the same month last year. Board economist Keith Stewart says there's been a corresponding supply from home sellers this spring to meet the spike in sales, but more homes are needed on the market to bring conditions to balance. The number of homes listed for sale in the region is 10,245, a 9.1 per cent increase from April

A man has been arrested in Victoria after a woman was attacked with a hammer at a park in James Bay. Officers on patrol were called to Irving Park following a loud altercation and learned on the way there that a woman's tent was destroyed with a baseball bat before she was assaulted with a hammer. Police say the suspect was found in his own tent and taken into custody while the woman was treated by paramedics at the scene. Charges of assault with a weapon, breach of probation and breaching conditions of release are being recommended against a 48-year-old man with a criminal record. Victoria p

A man has suffered potentially life-threatening injuries in a brazen daylight shooting outside a busy shopping mall in Langley, B.C.A statement from the RCMP says it happened Monday just after 3:30 p.m. in the parking lot of Willowbrook Shopping Centre, 45 kilometres east of Vancouver.Investigators say the shooting does not appear random and few other details have been released.It was the fourth shooting in Metro Vancouver in as many days.There was an attack Sunday in Burnaby on a woman who is expected to survive, the fatal shooting Saturday of a 29-year-old corrections officer in the parking

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