British Columbia's top doctor has extended a COVID-19 order that will keep gyms and fitness centres closed before providing more details tomorrow. That's when restrictions were set to expire, but Dr. Bonnie Henry said last week that they believed COVID-19 hospitalizations were expected to spike after cases within the community had peaked. Restrictions on gatherings and events will stay in place, and Henry has now also directed school boards to collect information on the vaccination status of their staff. The BC Teachers' Federation says on Twitter that it was not consulted or notified ahead o

A huge snowstorm continues to blast southern Ontario and parts of Quebec. The city of Toronto and other centres were brought to a standstill today with major highways having to close for a time. Environment Canada had issued snowfall or blizzard warnings for a stretch of the province but some of those have since been lifted. Dozens of flights to and from Toronto's Pearson airport were also delayed or cancelled this morning. The region was forecast to get as much as 50 centimetres of snow. Canada Post has issued a red delivery service alert for southern and eastern Ontario as a fierce storm h

A man with a meat cleaver was arrested by Vancouver Police on Sunday after threatening to kill people at the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre.A witness called 9-1-1 just after 1 p.m. yesterday after the 31-year-old suspect followed a woman into the Columbia Street community centre and began uttering threats while holding a large knife.VPD officers were close by and responded to the 9-1-1 call. The officers arrested the suspect nearby, after he tossed the knife and walked away.Vancouver Police applaud a number of quick-thinking witnesses who grabbed the knife off the ground, called 9-1-1, the

Kelowna RCMP are investigating after the body of a woman was found in the Glenmore area on Sunday morning.On January 16, 2022 just before 8:45 a.m., Kelowna RCMP was called to a park in the 2100 block of Glenmore Road. When officers arrived, they located the body of a deceased woman whose death is believed to be suspicious.Investigators have cordoned off the area and will be on scene for an undetermined period of time while they collect evidence and speak to witnesses. As the investigation is in its early stages, further information may be released once it becomes available.Kelowna RCMP is urg

A search is underway for the suspects who broke into an art gallery in Kelowna over the weekend, escaping with 11 pieces of art in less than four minutes. Gallery 421 owners Kelly Hanna and Ken Moen say the 2 am break-in on Saturday was targeted. They say surveillance video shows two masked men heading straight to several large sculptures in bronze or stone, while also scooping up some blown glass works. Kelowna RCMP are appealing for information as they investigate the robbery.

Pfizer's antiviral treatment for COVID-19, Paxlovid, has received Health Canada approval. It’s a combination of two different drugs, to be taken together twice a day for five days. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says the first doses are already here with more to come in March. He says the provinces and territories have been given preliminary information on deliveries, which will be done on a per capita basis.Canadian doctors have been anxious to get their hands on the medication as the Omicron wave is spreading so quickly. Canada bought one-million courses of the treatment for delivery thi

Police in Abbotsford say an Alberta man has been arrested in connection with the theft of a semi-truck in the Fraser Valley community. Constable Paul Walker says members of the Chilliwack RCMP attempted to stop the driver before he collided with another vehicle. Walker says police did not pursue the truck due to the man's driving behaviour and heavy fog but he later struck a concrete barrier and escaped before trying to steal a vehicle from a business complex, where members of the public intervened. He says 28 year old Rory Serna has been charged with multiple offences including dangerous ope

A BC Ferries spokesman says passengers should check for possible service disruptions before they arrive at a terminal because sailings have recently been cancelled due to staffing issues. Dan McIntosh says COVID-19 infections among employees, as well as seasonal cold and flu and winter storms could nix travel plans if vessels don't have enough employees to operate them as usual. He says staff have been cross-trained to do other duties and can be deployed on other routes, but that may not be enough if certain members of the crew, like the captain, or engineers, can't be on the job. Four sailin

Health Canada has approved Pfizer's antiviral treatment for COVID-19. The authorization posted to the Health Canada website this morning says the treatment is greenlighted for adult patients with mild or moderate COVID-19 who are also at high risk of becoming more seriously ill. Health Canada did not authorize it for use on teenagers. It is also not authorized for use on patients who are already hospitalized because of COVID-19.Paxlovid is a treatment that uses a combination of drugs to prevent the virus that causes COVID-19 from replicating once it has infected a patient.Clinical trials sho