White Rock’s Marine Drive was bumper-to-bumper traffic and most parking lots were full Sunday afternoon as temperatures reached 19C. Low-tide offered families the opportunity to stay physically distanced while the promenade and Memorial Park were relatively busy. Restaurants, which are currently restricted to patio-only dining due to COVID-19 restrictions, also experienced an increase in business due to the warm weather. The dining restrictions, which were originally slated to end April 19, have been extended until mid-May. City of White Rock council is scheduled to have a special meeting Monday to discuss COVID-19 prevention measures on the waterfront. Council is to receive a staff report at the meeting which lists a number of COVID-19 prevention measures, specific to the waterfront.
Vancouver’s mayor says he’s been in touch with the police chief, and the department will be “reassessing their approach to outdoor parties” held in defiance of COVID-related restrictions — like the one at English Bay Saturday. Kennedy Stewart, in a Tweet Sunday, said he understands people are frustrated with pandemic-related restrictions and eager to enjoy the warm weather, but “now is not the time to be gathering in large groups” Pointing out police were busy responding to a nearby homicide, Stewart says police have “better things to do” than crack down on gatherings or enforce provincial health orders. Speaking on behalf of the Vancouver Police Department, Const. Tania Visintin says officers did respond to calls about the crowd at the beach. “This is all very frustrating, I know it is and one could argue that enforcing these COVID regulations or rules that Dr. Bonnie Henry has set out is important — and it is important. But we do have to prioritize our calls. Vancouver’s a big major city and with that comes a lot of police response. We have to prioritize our assaults, our domestics our mental health calls before we get to those.” She says people should not hesitate to report instances of people flouting restrictions by calling 311 or the police non-emergency line. This was also an issue at white rock beach over the weekend and cousil is meeting today to discuss how to better control the crowds during this time.
Many Rogers wireless customers are reporting nation-wide service disruptions Monday morning. Customers on social media say they can’t make mobile calls while others say calls work, but they can’t access dat or there is a complete service failure. Some people are also reporting lost home internet service as well. Rogers says it is aware of the issues and is working to restore service. Reports indicate customer who call in for help could be on hold for as long as three hours. Dozens of online posts indicate the problem has lasted for hours, so if you’re with Rogers expect delays
People in B-C 18 years and older are invited this week to register to receive their COVID-19 vaccine. The Ministry of Health says more than 1.8 million people are eligible to register for vaccines this week through the province’s Get Vaccinated program. The ministry says people 40 years old and older are invited to register today, with those 35 and older signing up Tuesday and 30 and older Wednesday. Those 25 and older can register Thursday and 18 and above can sign up Friday.
There have been plenty of notable upsets in the NHL this season. None of them have been on the level of what the Vancouver Canucks pulled off on Sunday night. Playing shorthanded in their first game since March 24 after COVID-19 took a serious toll on their roster for the past three weeks, the Canucks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in overtime. Vancouver was +330 on the money line (which means they’re set to lose and you’d make a lot of money if you had bet on them). It was the largest upset in the NHL this season. The Canucks didn’t even return to the ice for practice until this past Thursday. Even after this game was pushed back to Sunday, Vancouver was still without several regulars. And the boys did it and pulled off a HUGE win.
The province is extending what was supposed to a three-week COVID-19 circuit breaker through the May long weekend and introducing new travel restrictions. The ban on indoor dining at restaurants and bars, group fitness activities at gyms and indoor social gatherings was originally set to expire today. Premier John Horgan says orders will also be issued on Friday banning people from non-essential travel outside their health region with fines imposed on violators. B-C Ferries will no longer accept bookings for leisure vehicles such as campers and vans — and signs will be posted at the Alberta border reminding travellers they should only be entering B-C for essential business.
The provincial government is expanding AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccinations to anyone age 40 and older. All those in that age group can get a dose of the vaccine at local pharmacies. Special clinics for people of that age and using that vaccine will also be set up in 13 hot spot communities, mainly in the Fraser Health region. The province says it was able to speed up its vaccination schedule because it has immediate access to an additional 75,000 AstraZeneca doses from the U-S.
Surrey RCMP say they’ve arrested and charged a man for a string of arsons in the Newton area. The investigation began just after noon on April 15 when police received a tip from Surrey Fire Services that several small intentional fires were set in garbage cans in Newton, since 9:30 a.m. that morning. “The circumstances of each fire led investigators to believe that these fires may be connected.” At around 12:50 p.m., another fire was set in a dumpster at a fast food restaurant in the 6300-block of King George Boulevard. “Officers responded to the restaurant and quickly gathered enough evidence to identify a suspect,” the news release says. “Officers then dispersed throughout the area and patrolled for the suspect, who was located and arrested at a nearby bus stop.” Now charged with five counts of arson causing damage to property is Surrey resident Balveer Singh Boparai, 51, police say.