BC is reporting 68 new cases of COVID-19, the lowest daily rate since last August, as the province prepares to enter the second stage of its restart plan tomorrow. The new cases announced are among 277 diagnosed since Friday for a total of one-thousand-537 active infections, including 136 people who are in hospital. Another four people have died, pushing the death toll in BC to 1,734. Just over 74 per cent of all eligible residents aged 12 and up have now had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine out of more than four million shots administered overall. Health Minister Adrian Dix and provinci

British Columbians can hit the road again, Premier John Horgan says restrictions are being lifted on travel within the province. Horgan announced the change as he, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and several cabinet ministers confirmed BC is moving to Step Two of its restart plan. That means non-essential travel within the province is allowed, but travel elsewhere in Canada is still not recommended. Starting tomorrow groups of up to 50 can gather outdoors, movie theatres can re-open and sports fans can watch events in person, while masks remain mandatory in indoor public places. Ba

Prosecutors have laid terrorism charges against a man accused of driving down and killing four members of a Muslim family in London, Ont.The Crown says Nathaniel Veltman's four counts of first-degree murder constitute an act of terrorism and prosecutors have upgraded those charges under section 83 of the Criminal Code.Veltman also faces one count of attempted murder due to terrorism activity.The upgraded charges were laid as Veltman made a brief court appearance via video this morning.Salman Afzaal, 46, his 44-year-old wife Madiha Salman, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna and her 74-year-old g

Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, have issued a joint statement regarding updates on the COVID-19 response in British Columbia:"Today, we are reporting that 75.1% of all adults in B.C. and 73.1% of those 12 and older have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. In total, 3,893,581 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 497,932 of which are second doses."We have had 180 new cases of COVID-19, including five epi-linked cases, for a total of 146,176 cases in British Columb

City councillors in Victoria have voted unanimously to cancel a planned Canada Day broadcast in order to permit a ``thoughtful reflection'' of what it means to be Canadian.A statement from the City of Victoria says council voted to scrap the virtual celebration following the discovery of what are believed to be the remains of 215 former students buried in unmarked graves on the site of the now-closed Kamloops Indian Residential School.The city says it will be guided by members of the local First Nation and will replace the broadcast with one that features Indigenous artists. The updated broad

British Columbia's top doctor says she's confident more COVID-19 restrictions can be lifted next week as planned due to dramatic declines in cases and because the person-to-person transmission rate has dropped. Dr. Bonnie Henry says fewer infections reflect the power of vaccines, with nearly 73 per cent of eligible residents aged 12 and up having had their first shot. However, only about eight per cent of those 18 and over have received both doses of a vaccine as the province pushes for more people to register for a second shot. B.C. is expected to move to the second of its four-step reopenin

Surrey RCMP frontline officers seized seven imitation firearms and large amount of suspected fentanyl following a recent traffic stop in Whalley.On June 4, 2021 at 4:40 pm, Surrey RCMP frontline officers conducted a traffic stop with a vehicle for a motor vehicle act investigation, in the area of 94 Avenue and King George Boulevard. During their interaction with the driver, the officers observed items consistent with drug trafficking and arrested the driver and passenger.Further investigation led to the seizure of seven imitation firearms, a pistol magazine with live ammunition, a sword, and a

Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, have issued a joint statement regarding updates on the COVID-19 response in British Columbia. "Today, we are reporting that 74.5% of all adults in B.C. and 72.4% of those 12 and older have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. In total, 3,749,758 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 390,264 of which are second doses."We have had 148 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 145,843 cases in British Columbia."Of the new cases, 23 are in

Procurement Minister Anita Anand says Canada will have enough vaccine delivered for 80 per cent of eligible Canadians to be fully vaccinated by the end of July. Only people over the age of 12 are able to get vaccinated currently, with Pfizer and Moderna hoping to submit data from trials on younger children in the fall. Anand says there are now confirmed deliveries of 55 million doses by July 31, about 70 per cent of it from Pfizer-BioNTech. That is enough to give two doses to more than 27 million people. Currently, Canada has given one dose to 23.8 million people and both doses to 3.3 million