British Columbia is reporting 498 new cases of COVID-19 and four more deaths, pushing the death toll in the province to 1,411. Among more than 89,000 cases diagnosed to date, 4,851 are active, including 281 people who are in hospital. A statement from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix says no data about new cases of COVID-19 variants of concern is available today due to a lab sequencing issue. BC had confirmed close to a thousand variant cases earlier this week. More than 444,000 doses of three approved COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in BC and

The federal government has rejected Iran's explanation of human error for the shooting down of an airliner from Ukraine in January of 2020. Iran's Revolutionary Guard fired two missiles at Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 shortly after it took off from Tehran. All 176 people on board were killed, including 55 Canadian citizens and dozens more with ties to the country. Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau and Transport Minister Omar Alghabra largely dismiss the 145-page document, which was posted to the website of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization today. They say the report makes no

The Transportation Safety Board has received the final report into the downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet over Tehran, and will discuss it at a news conference tomorrow. Ukraine International Airlines Flight 7-52 crashed after it was shot down by Iran's Revolutionary Guard in January, 2020. All 176 people aboard were killed, including 55 Canadian citizens, 30 permanent residents and dozens of others bound for Canada. Transportation Safety Board of Canada on Twitter: #MEDIA: TSB will hold a news conference to provide its comments on the final safety investigation report into the downing of U

A female officer of the Canadian Armed Forces is quitting the military, saying she is "sickened" by investigations into alleged sexual misconduct by senior military leaders.In her sharply worded resignation letter, obtained by The Canadian Press, Lt.-Col. Eleanor Taylor says she is also "disgusted" it took so long for the top brass to come under scrutiny.A veteran of the war in Afghanistan, Taylor has also served with the military's special forces and most recently held a top position with a reserve unit in Halifax.Her resignation comes amid allegations of misconduct involving senior members

B.C.'s top doctor is reminding the public to follow COVID-19 rules during St. Patrick's Day celebrations, while the province has again extended its ongoing state of emergency in response to the pandemic. Dr. Bonnie Henry says in a statement that last call for alcohol sales at restaurants, pubs and liquor stores will be at 8 p.m. Wednesday. There are 4,999 active COVID-19 cases in B.C. with 556 new diagnoses, including 470 in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health regions. B.C. has confirmed 116 new cases of COVID-19 variants of concern in the last day for a total of 996, of which 130 remain

For the second year in a row, Surrey’s Vaisakhi Khalsa Day Parade – considered the world’s largest with more than 500,000 spectators annually – has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers at Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar confirmed the April 24 event will not proceed in order to comply with provincial health orders restricting mass gatherings. Vaisakhi, which marks the creation of the Khalsa in 1699, is the most significant day in the Sikh calendar. Parade spokesman Moninder Singh told Connect News Team that families will celebrate in smaller, private ways this year. “

Canada's top doctor says now is not the time for Canadians to increase their contact with others in light of a recent rise in average COVID-19 case counts across the country. Dr. Theresa Tam says this upswing combined with an acceleration of new variants of the virus in Canada is cause for concern. She says the most up-to-date stats indicate the percentage of Canadians with immunity to COVID-19 remains low, even as governments have been ramping up their vaccination efforts. And since today's case numbers reflect the situation in Canada two weeks ago, Tam urged Canadians to continue to keep th

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization says there is now enough ``real-world evidence'' to show the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is both safe and effective for seniors.The decision reverses a recommendation made by the body on March 1, when the panel of vaccine experts said AstraZeneca hadn't included enough people over the age of 65 in its clinical trials.NACI chair Dr. Caroline Quach said Tuesday that two studies of patients who received the vaccine in the United Kingdom have been released since then and show the AstraZeneca vaccine is both safe and effective for seniors, par

BC is reporting 1,506 new cases of COVID-19 over the past three days. And provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says 10 more people have died, bringing the death toll in BC to 1,407. Dr. Henry used her COVID update today to urge people to get vaccinated as soon as possible with whatever vaccine they are offered. She says concerns about blood clots that have led some countries to suspend use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine appear to be related to 37 cases. She says blood clots can occur naturally and that's out of more than 17 million doses administered so far. BC's initial shipment of