The Ministry of Health says in a statement that people who were not fully vaccinated accounted for 82.4 per cent of all COVID-19 cases and 86.4 per cent of hospitalizations in B-C between August 11th and Tuesday this week. It says people who hadn’t received their first dose in particular accounted for 70.9 per cent of cases, while partially vaccinated people amounted to 11.5 per cent and 17.5 per cent of cases were among people who had two doses of vaccine. The ministry says 75.6 per cent of eligible B-C residents age 12 and up are fully vaccinated, while 83.7 per cent have received at least their first dose. B-C has reported two more deaths and 724 new cases of COVID-19, pushing active infections to five-thousand-640 across the province.
Officials in Washington state say they have destroyed the first nest of so-called murder hornets discovered this year, just 400 metres from the Canadian border. The Agriculture Department officials say the invasive Asian giant hornet nest was discovered last week in the base of a dead alder tree near Blaine, Washington. They say 113 worker hornets were vacuumed from the nest, 67 were captured nearby and some 15-hundred immature hornets were also found inside. The hornets prey on honey bees and officials are hoping to find any other potential nests before they produce new queens.
The central Okanagan emergency operations centre says activity at the Mount Law fire near West Kelowna has decreased, and while it remains classified as burning out of control, crews have made significant progress securing fire guards. The centre’s director, Brian Reardon, says crews worked throughout Wednesday night to quell “intense fire activity” that had sprung up. Elsewhere, two of the largest wildfires in B-C are now classified as being held after weeks of burning out of control and forcing thousands out of their homes. The B-C Wildfire Service says the nearly 900-square-kilometre Sparks Lake fire between Kamloops and Ashcroft is being contained — meaning the blaze is not likely to spread beyond its boundaries under current and forecasted conditions — and so is the Tremont Creek blaze to the south.
White Rock-raised Colton Gillies has returned to the Surrey Eagles nest, this time as an assistant coach. As a 15-year-old, Gillies played just three games with the Eagles back in the 2004-05 season, before jumping to the WHL and eventually becoming a first-round draft pick of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, 16th overall in 2007. Now 32 years of age, Gillies will work the Eagles bench this season alongside head coach Cam Keith. News of the hiring was posted to the BCHL team’s website Thursday (Aug. 26). As a pro, Gillies played 154 NHL games with the Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets, and spent parts of four seasons in Russia with the KHL’s Dinamo Riga, from 2016 to 2020 Back in May, the Eagles announced a three-year contract extension for head coach Keith, on the heels of a first-place finish in their three-team BCHL pod during the league’s abbreviated 2020-21 season.
BC health officials announced 867 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the province to 163,560. In a written statement, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said that there are 5,657 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Of the active cases, 159 individuals are currently hospitalized, 84 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. New cases and total active cases, broken down by health region, are as follows:
- Fraser Health: 228 new cases, 1,377 total active cases
- Vancouver Coastal Health: 165 new cases, 1,132 total active cases
- Interior Health: 350 new cases, 2,190 total active cases
- Northern Health: 61 new cases, 393 total active cases
- Island Health: 63 new cases, 555 total active cases
- Outside of Canada: No new cases, 10 total active cases
There have been three new COVID-19-related deaths in Interior Health, for a total of 1,807 deaths in British Columbia. Between August 12 and 25, people not vaccinated accounted for 82.0% of cases and 85.9% of hospitalizations.
Past week cases (August 19 to 25) – Total 4,368
- Not vaccinated: 3,116 (71.3%)
- Partially vaccinated: 467 (10.7%)
- Fully vaccinated: 785 (18.0%)
Past two weeks cases hospitalized (August 12 to 25) – Total 213
- Not vaccinated: 169 (79.3%)
- Partially vaccinated: 14 (6.6%)
- Fully vaccinated: 30 (14.1%)
Past week cases per 100,000 population (August 19 to 25)
- Not vaccinated: 199.0
- Partially vaccinated: 105.7
- Fully vaccinated: 24.9
To date, 83.9% of all eligible people 12 and over have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine; 75.8% have received their second dose. 155,928 people who tested positive have now recovered.
Health Canada has approved the use of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine in children as young as 12. That means there are now two vaccines authorized for young people. Ottawa approved the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children and teens in early May. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization is meeting next week to discuss if booster shots should be offered to people with compromised immune systems — something Ontario is already doing.
Less than 24 hours after an embarrassing loss to a team from a lesser league, the Vancouver Whitecaps have fired their head coach. Marc Dos Santos is out as the team’s manager, the Whitecaps announced, as is his brother and assistant coach Phillip Dos Santos. Whitecaps director of methodology Vanni Sartini will serve as acting head coach. “We are very grateful to Marc and Phil for the hard work and sacrifice that they put in to lead our team over the past two and a half years,” said Whitecaps FC sporting director and CEO Axel Schuster. “We are extremely committed to continue moving this club and team in the right direction, and at this time we felt that it was necessary to make a change to achieve our next steps.” It hasn’t been an easy three seasons for Dos Santos in Vancouver, after being hired in November 2018. Off the field, the Montreal native was first tasked with making player personnel decisions, as well as trying to coach the team on the pitch. The team needed to be rebuilt following the departure of Alphonso Davies and a rift with many players in the locker room. It didn’t go well, as the Whitecaps finished with the second-worst record in MLS in 2019 before the responsibility of player personnel decisions was given to Schuster. Since then, Dos Santos and the Whitecaps have been displaced for the most part, being unable to play most of their home matches in Vancouver because of the closed border caused by the pandemic.
Rapper Kanye West is once again causing controversy, this time inviting some questionable guests to a music launch. West welcomed the performers last night in Chicago for his yet to be released album “Donda.” Many noticed Marliyn Manson on stage, who is currently facing more than a dozen claims of sexual abuse and misconduct allegations. Rapper DaBaby was also there. He recently made comments seen as homophobic.