Almost 20 per cent of those who are eligible for a vaccine in British Columbia have had their shot. A joint statement from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix says 946,096 doses of the three vaccines have been administered, and of those, more than 87,000 were second doses. The province recorded another 997 new cases on Wednesday and two more deaths. There are 330 people in hospital and the number in intensive care has grown to 105. Additional genome sequencing hasn't been completed since the Tuesday report, so the number for variants of concern remains at

Ontario residents are facing new stay-at-home orders as officials in several provinces tighten restrictions and crack down on rule-breakers in a race against COVID-19 and its variants. Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the order will take effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday and it will mean stores selling essential items can stay open but will only be permitted to sell grocery and pharmacy items. Premier Doug Ford says his government will declare its third state of emergency of the pandemic to invoke the new measures. He says the order is necessary to fight the third wave of the pandemic that threate

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization says it is standing by its emergency recommendation to extend the delivery of second doses of COVID-19 vaccines up to four months.The panel's ``rapid'' response recommendation a month ago was followed by further research on the vaccines.NACI's experts say they still believe that extending the time to give a second dose will bring protection to Canadians more quickly.The panel says it expects the administration of second doses won't end up taking as long as four months based on Canada's expected vaccine supply.NACI, an external advisory body that

British Columbia's provincial health officer says she expects the province to catch up to Ontario in the proportion of variant COVID-19 cases that were first identified in the United Kingdom. Dr. Bonnie Henry says about a third of BC's cases are from that variant while the strain represents about 60 per cent of Ontario's new cases. But she expects BC to match that figure in about a month. Dr. Henry says the variants are worrying but of the three thousand, seven hundred and sixty six variant cases, only 266 are active. That represents about three per cent of all the active COVID-19 cases in BC

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says this is an especially difficult day for a lot of people as we mark three years since the terrible bus crash involving the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team. Trudeau says we remember 16 people who were taken much too soon. A virtual tribute is planned for today to mark the third anniversary of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash. Sixteen people died and 13 were injured when a semi-trailer ran a stop sign and into the path of the junior hockey team's bus near Tisdale, Sask., on April 6, 2018. The service from St. Augustine Catholic Church is to be livestreamed on

British Columbia is shifting into its next phase in the vaccine rollout, allowing people to book their appointments online. The provincial government wants people to register first to get a confirmation code, then book an appointment for a shot when they are contacted by email, text or phone.Starting today, people born in 1950 or earlier, Indigenous people 18 and older, and those who have certain medical conditions can book their appointments through the online portal.Those aged 55 to 65 and living in the Lower Mainland also have the option of booking at pharmacies to get an Oxford-AstraZenec

There have been more than four-thousand COVID-19 cases and 23 people have died over the last four days in British Columbia. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix also say there are three thousand 599 cases involving COVID-19 variants and almost 600 of those are still active. There are 318 people in hospital and the number of those in intensive care has grown to 95. More than 893 thousand doses of all three brands of the COVID-19 vaccine have been distributed. Starting tomorrow, people born in 1950 or earlier, those with certain medical conditions, and Indig

Health officials are urging British Columbia residents not to travel outside their community as the province set back-to-back records for the number of new COVID-19 cases recorded in a single day. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say in a joint statement Saturday that B.C. had 1,072 infections in the last 24 hours, surpassing the previous highest daily total of 1,018 cases a day earlier. Henry and Dix say an easy-to-use provincial booking system for vaccinations is expected to be available starting next week as B.C. runs two parallel streams to ramp up

A train has barrelled into an unmanned truck that rolled onto the track in Taiwan. The National Fire Service said at least 51 people were killed and dozens injured in the island's deadliest rail disaster. Many passengers were crushed, while some survivors were forced to climb out of windows and walk along the train's roof to safety. The government's disaster relief centre said the truck's emergency brake was not properly engaged and the vehicle slid down a hillside. A Railways Administration official said the train's lead car then crashed into the truck. The crash occurred Friday, the first d