British Columbians are invited to provide input into the development of made-in-B.C. permanent paid sick leave to support workers and protect workplaces."One of the most critical lessons from the pandemic was the importance of people staying home when they are sick, to contain the spread of an illness and keep workplaces productive," said Harry Bains, Minister of Labour. "But many workers, especially those in lower-paying jobs without benefits, simply can't afford to lose wages by missing work due to illness or personal injury. That's why we are creating a permanent paid sick leave entitlement

B.C. is reporting 342 new cases of COVID-19, including six epi-linked cases, for a total of 150,973 cases in the province.There are currently 1,764 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 147,409 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 55 individuals are in hospital and 23 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.The new/active cases include:66 new cases in Fraser HealthTotal active cases: 38857 new cases in Vancouver Coastal HealthTotal active cases: 258171 new cases in Interior HealthTotal active cases: 94513 new cases

As COVID cases rebound in BC, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is urging people to take advantage of ``walk-in Wednesday.'' Dr. Henry says anyone can walk into clinics set up across the province today to update their vaccinations or get their first shot. Dr. Henry says she knows some people have been displaced by wildfires or have had difficulties accessing vaccinations and now is the time to get a shot, especially as cases increase in the Interior. BC reported 742 new cases over a four-day period on Tuesday. The vaccination rate has slowed with 81.4 per cent of those eligible getti

Over a four-day period, B.C. is reporting 742 new cases of COVID-19, including two epi-linked cases, for a total of 150,631 cases in the province:July 30-31: 160 new casesJuly 31-Aug. 1: 196 new casesAug. 1-2: 185 new casesAug. 2-3: 201 new casesThere are 1,544 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 147,285 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 53 individuals are in hospital and 19 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 96 hours, one new death (Vancouver Coastal Health) has been reported, for an overall t

Health Minister Patty Hajdu says there is still more work to do to convince some Canadians that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is their best option to protect themselves and their loved ones from the illness. Canada’s public health doctors say the country is seeing the beginning of a fourth wave of COVID-19 but how bad that wave gets will depend heavily on how many more people get vaccinated.A recent report from the United States suggesting vaccinated people can spread COVID-19 as easily as unvaccinated people caused some to fear vaccines weren’t working very well. Most infections are

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is one of 16 people appointed to receive the province's highest honour, the Order of British Columbia. Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin says in a statement she is delighted to welcome the 16 ``exceptional'' people to the Order of B.C., which is the province's highest form of recognition. She says joining Henry, who has played a leading role in B.C.'s ongoing COVID-19 pandemic response, are Indigenous leaders, philanthropists, artists and business and community trailblazers. Among those joining Henry as appointees are: Chief Joe Alphonse of the Tsilhqot'in Natio

Jessie Fleming scored on a penalty kick in the 74th minute to help the Canadian women's soccer team to a 1-0 semifinal victory over the United States at the Tokyo Games.American defender Tierna Davidson was called for a foul after her left foot hit Deanna Rose's leg just inside the penalty area as they chased a loose ball.Ukrainian referee Kateryna Monzul pointed to the penalty spot after a review. American goalkeeper Adrianna Franch dived to the correct side but couldn't get a piece of Fleming's powerful right-footed shot.Canada will next play the gold-medal game with Sweden, set for Friday a

B.C. is reporting 243 new cases of COVID-19, including one epi-linked case, for a total of 149,889 cases in the province.There are 1,231 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 146,876 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 47 individuals are in hospital and 16 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. In the last 24 hours, no new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 1,771. Since December 2020, the Province has administered 6,774,257 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines. As o

Federal officials are warning that Canada could be on the brink of a fourth wave of COVID-19 driven by the highly contagious Delta variant if the country opens too fast before enough people have been vaccinated. Canada's chief public health officer says long-term forecasts indicate that a hasty approach to reopening could portend a sharp resurgence of the virus by the end of the summer. Dr. Theresa Tam says the new modelling underscores the need to exercise caution in lifting public health measures as early signs of epidemic growth emerge in some areas. Tam says officials expect that the Delta