British Columbia health officials are urging residents to celebrate Diwali virtually this year, as the province reports a new daily record number of COVID-19 cases. B.C. recorded 617 new cases on Friday, for a total of 20,985. Officials also reported two new COVID-19-related fatalities, bringing the province's death toll to 290 over the course of the pandemic. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say in a joint statement that the number of cases shows it is a critical time for B.C., and residents need to work together to slow the number of infections. They

A search has resumed for a Vancouver Island couple missing since Wednesday in a rugged area west of Nanaimo. Police say the search began Thursday for 32 year old Cody Martin, 29 year old Tamara Sandulak and Rex, their black lab-cross dog, when they didn't return from a day of fishing. An RCMP statement says dozens of search and rescue volunteers covered the Nanaimo Lakes area on foot and by all-terrain vehicle late into Thursday evening. More search and rescue crews from neighbouring communities joined the effort on Friday, while RCMP say air support will be added if weather permits. Police h

BC Hydro says an online survey shows many households are stocked up but unprepared to ride out a major winter storm. It found 20 per cent of homeowners believe they are prepared for an extended power outage because they laid in supplies such as toilet paper, hand sanitizer and groceries. But the utility points out that stockpiling toilet paper won't help when storms cut power and leave people without heat, light or the ability to cook food and keep it from rotting for several days. But the online survey of 803 B.C. residents conducted in early October says more than half lack an emergency ki

A new survey by Simon Fraser University and Autism Community Training suggests caregivers for kids with autism are feeling especially squeezed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey of 238 families between July and September showed one third reported safety concerns and almost 10 per cent had considered putting their child into government care. The majority of caregivers reported provincial supports in response to the pandemic have been insufficient in meeting their needs and their kids are suffering as a result. Just three families reported the pandemic has positively affected their ch

British Columbia's provincial health officer says contact tracers are ``stretched to the max'' and falling behind as they try to keep up with the province's growing COVID-19 infection rate. The latest modelling from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry came as B.C. surpassed 20,000 cases of COVID-19 with 1,130 new cases detected over two days and four more deaths. Dr. Henry says one infection can cause a cascade of trouble and used the example of a small wedding where 15 people became positive, 10 of those had additional household cases and one person spread it to a long-term care home

The company that operates nine casinos in BC, from Victoria, Nanaimo and Vancouver north to Dawson Creek, is defending its acceptance of a 3.3 billion dollar takeover by Apollo Global Management. Great Canadian Gaming, which also has holdings in Ontario and parts of the Maritimes, says Apollo has agreed to pay 39 dollars per share for the company, an offer that's roughly 35 per cent above Great Canadian's recent value. But many minority shareholders say they will vote against the deal, arguing it doesn't reflect the true value of the company, which some analysts have pegged as high as 1.1 bil

A pedestrian has been seriously injured in a collision in Surrey, BC. RCMP say the incident took place in the Cloverdale area around 4 pm yesterday. Mounties say the pedestrian's injuries could be life threatening and the driver was co-operative and remained at the scene. The investigation is in its early stages and police are interested in hearing from witnesses.

Police in Richmond have arrested a man who didn't have his ducks in a row while hunting for birds in the area. A resident complained to police that a man appeared to be shooting at birds in a nearby field. While police say the man was shooting where hunting is permitted, he also violated numerous hunting rules, including firearm violations. RCMP say no one was hurt, but charges are pending against the man.

British Columbia's Interior Health authority has issued a COVID-19 alert to its residents as cases rise in the region. The authority says in a statement that it's concerned by the upward trend and frequency of new local clusters. The provincial health officer's order limiting social interactions don't apply to Interior Health, but it says in a statement that it needs the public's help to prevent further restrictions. It is asking people to avoid non-essential travel, including unnecessary visits to the Lower Mainland or other jurisdictions with surging COVID-19 cases. B.C.'s provincial court