Health officials have released the first details about the mass vaccination strategy that aims to provide COVID-19 immunizations to about four million BC residents by September. Beginning immediately, residents and staff of independent living centres, seniors' supportive housing facilities and those giving or receiving homecare support will be contacted to arrange appointments. Seniors aged 90 and up will be eligible for a shot as early as next Monday, followed a week later by those aged 85 and over, while people over 80 can book starting March 22nd. By mid-April, people between 60 and 79 and

More than 275 thousand COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in BC, but that isn't nearly enough to prevent new health facility outbreaks at Glacier View Lodge, Chilliwack General Hospital, Royal Columbian Hospital and Surrey Memorial Hospital. However, several outbreaks were also declared over, including one at St. Paul's Hospital in downtown Vancouver. BC is reporting 1,478 new COVID-19 infections from Saturday to Monday, for a total of 80,672 cases in the province since the pandemic began. There are 4,464 people with active cases in the province, of whom 236 are hospitalized and 65 are

RCMP say two youths have been arrested after a male was injured in an assault with a weapon outside a high school in Surrey, B.C. Mounties say investigators have identified three suspects in the assault, which happened Monday morning outside of Panorama Ridge Secondary School. The injured youth was taken to hospital in stable condition and the school was placed on a "hold and secure" until the safety of all students was confirmed, police say. All of the suspects are youth and were not previously known to police, RCMP say, and while two have been arrested and are in custody, officers are still

Police say homicide investigators have been called after a child was found in medical distress in a small community in the Fraser Valley. The RCMP in Agassiz say the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team has taken over after they were called to a home in Harrison Mills to assist BC Ambulance Service when it was called to a medical emergency. They say the child was taken to a regional hospital where he was in critical condition and not expected to survive. The RCMP say no other details are being released. Upper Fraser Valley RCMP on Twitter: Agassiz - Agassiz RCMP Engage IHIT Following Call o

Police say they've fined the host of a gender reveal party in downtown Vancouver. The host got a fine of 2,300 dollars for violating the COVID-19 provincial health order banning gatherings. Police spokesman Sergeant Steve Addison says officers were called to an apartment Saturday evening for a report of a large gathering. He says 17 people were found inside the apartment. Addison says the incident shows terrible judgment and a lack of consideration for the community.

BC's police watchdog is investigating after a man was shot and killed in a First Nations community off the west coast of Vancouver Island. The RCMP say two Mounties from the Tofino detachment were sent to a residence on the Opitsaht First Nation Saturday night to investigate a report of a woman in distress. They allege an unspecified "interaction" then occurred in which one man was shot and another was arrested. Police say the woman was taken to hospital for assessment, and no one else was injured. BC RCMP on Twitter: #bcrcmp #Tofino - BC RCMP notify the IIO BC of an incident in Tofino https:

Health officials have declared COVID-19 outbreaks at two more Metro Vancouver hospitals after finding evidence the virus was transmitted within a medicine unit at both locations. A statement from Fraser Health says the outbreaks are in single units of Surrey Memorial Hospital and Chilliwack General Hospital. One patient at Surrey Memorial and five patients at Chilliwack General have tested positive for COVID-19. Those units have been closed to admissions, but Fraser Health says other units and the emergency rooms of both hospitals remain open. Information from Vancouver Coastal Health shows a

British Columbia health officials say the federal government's approval of two new vaccines is encouraging news and one more layer of protection to help get the province through the pandemic. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say in a statement that approval of the vaccines by Oxford-AstraZeneca and Verity-Serum Institute of India is an "exciting" step forward. The statement says the new vaccines are "fridge stable," making them easier to transport and distribute across the province. British Columbia announced 589 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday along w

The Canada Revenue Agency says a West Vancouver man has been sentenced to 29 months in jail and handed a stiff fine for attempting to avoid a tax bill. Court records show Michael Sholz was sentenced Wednesday in provincial court in Vancouver. Sholz, who is in his late 60s, was convicted in June 2020 of three tax-related offences under the Excise Tax Act and two counts of uttering forged documents related to ownership and construction of a West Vancouver home. A statement from the agency says, in addition to the jail term, Sholz has been fined $644,975.71. The statement says an investigation sh