B.C. reported 640 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, for a total of 44,103 since the pandemic began. Another 24 people have died, bringing the death toll to 692. The number of people who have died in B.C. because of COVID-19 has more than doubled in less than a month. The province says 362 people are hospitalized, while 91 of those are in intensive care. One new health-care facility outbreak has been declared at Sunrise of Vancouver. Among new cases 98 new cases of COVID-19 have been identified in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 399 new cases in the Fraser Health region.

Canada's Deputy Chief Public Health Officer says he's never seen the global health community come together as it has in the fight against COVID-19. Dr. Njoo says we aren't at the end of living with COVID-19 but we are at the beginning of the end. He's urging Canadians to keep up with public health practices. "Pace of advancement and innovation has been truly remarkable" Dr. Njoo says the pace of advancement and innovation in the fight against COVID-19 has been truly remarkable. Dr. Njoo says as the Pfizer vaccine rolls out this week, they're preparing to receive and distribute the Moderna vacc

The federal government says it has signed an agreement with the United States to send a Canadian astronaut around the moon.The planned trip in 2023 is part of a broader U.S.-led effort to establish a new international space station above the lunar surface to allow for exploration of the moon and future missions to Mars.The Gateway Treaty unveiled today also calls for a second flight for a Canadian astronaut to that future space station, known as the Lunar Gateway.The government says the agreement will make Canada the second country to send an astronaut into deep space, though the trip will no

Today marks the first day of British Columbia’s provincewide COVID-19 immunizations, the most comprehensive vaccine program to ever be delivered in B.C.Over the coming days, approximately 4,000 health-care workers in British Columbia will be rolling up their sleeves to receive the first approved COVID-19 vaccine.Nisha Yunus, a 64-year old residential care aid was one of the first people in British Columbia to receive the COVID-19 immunization. Yunus has worked in the same long-term care home in the Vancouver Coastal Health region for 41 years, all in the same unit and on the same floor. The

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada has signed a contract to receive up to 168,000 doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine before the end of December. The Moderna vaccine has not yet been approved by Health Canada but Trudeau says deliveries could begin within 48 hours of that happening. Trudeau also says Canada is set to receive about 200,000 of its total early shipment of COVID-19 vaccine doses from Pfizer next week. He says there will also be 70 sites across the country ready to administer these doses, a big jump from the 14 distribution sites in place this week. Moderna's vaccine doesn'

The federal government has reached an agreement with Moderna that would see doses of its COVID-19 vaccine shipped to Canada within 48 hours of Health Canada approval.The chief medical adviser at Health Canada says things are on track for her department to approve a second vaccine for COVID-19 very soon. Dr. Supriya Sharma says things ``look positive'' for the vaccine from U.S. biotech firm Moderna but there are still some outstanding manufacturing documents needed before the decision can be made.Ongoing reviews of two more vaccines are less certain, with AstraZeneca's potentially needing more

The first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have arrived in British Columbia and will start to be administered on Tuesday. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the vaccine's arrival is "momentous" news, but warned it doesn't mean it's safe to break physical distancing restrictions. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is being used in the regions covered by the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health authorities and will be given to workers in long-term care facilities. There were 2,146 new cases of COVID-19 over the last three days, bringing the total number of infections to 42,943 since the pande

Quebec and Ontario have administered the country's first COVID-19 vaccinations to a health-care worker from a Toronto nursing home and a Quebec care home resident. Anita Quidangen, a personal support worker at the Rekai Centre, received the first dose at a hospital in Toronto. Her coworker Derek Thompson was also inoculated and he says the shots represent progress for all front-line workers in the province. Just shortly before that Quebec also administered its first Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines to residents of long-term care homes in Montreal and Quebec City. In Quebec City, Gisele Leves

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the first shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine have arrived in Canada.Trudeau made the announcement Sunday night on Twitter, and noted that while it's good news, the fight against COVID-19 is not over and Canadians must keep up their vigilance.The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines are bound for 14 distribution sites across the country.There are distribution sites in all 10 provinces, but none in the territories because health officials say the Pfizer shot's -70 C storage temperature make it difficult to stock there.Quebec is expected to be the first province to administ