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

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Health Canada is closely monitoring European reaction to a batch of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines linked to possible side-effects. France is suspending the use of the drug until at least tomorrow afternoon, when the European Medicines Agency will issue its recommendation on it. Germany is also joining a growing list of European countries doing the same, following reports that some people developed blood clots after receiving the shot. Trudeau says none of the doses Canada received from AstraZeneca were from the same batch, and he's urging everyone to

The British Columbia government says age-based bookings for COVID-19 vaccinations are one week ahead of schedule and seniors aged 84 and older, plus Indigenous elders 65 and up, can make an appointment for a shot.The Health Ministry says those 83 and older can make an appointment Tuesday and the age eligibility drops daily until anyone 80 and older can make arrangements for a COVID-19 jab by the end of the week.Added staff at call centres across B.C. have helped speed up the process and the province says the centres are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.An estimated 100,000 people are included

Health officials are calling on British Columbians to balance the easing of some outdoor restrictions by keeping up safety measures when indoors. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say an amended order allowing 10 people who know each other to gather outside does not apply to indoor locations. They say in a release that all safety plans should continue being followed in workplaces, schools and grocery stores, for example. B.C. has recorded 648 new cases of COVID-19, including 79 that are variants of concern, the vast majority involving the one first iden

Pfizer is guaranteeing delivery of at least one-million COVID-19 vaccine doses per week starting on the 22nd of this month and continuing through to May 10th. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says one-million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines every seven days will make a big difference. He says the government has updated the provinces and territories so they can make plans for mass vaccination sites. Trudeau says the government is focused on making sure no one misses out on the vaccine, and that includes Indigenous communities. This morning Trudeau says Pfizer has provided some new delivery sche