As of this morning travelers entering Canada will face fewer pandemic border measures. Unvaccinated children under the age of 12 travelling with a fully vaccinated adult will no longer need a COVID-19 test to travel to Canada. Pre-entry tests will still be needed for partially vaccinated or unvaccinated travelers. Fully vaccinated travelers will no longer be required to wear a mask for 14 days, keep a list of contacts or report COVID-19 symptoms. Airports will still conduct random mandatory COVID-19 tests on travelers as they arrive. One measure that is not changing is the mandate that all passengers, regardless of vaccination status, must continue to wear a mask throughout their entire travel journey.
A man is in custody after a fire gutted a restaurant in Aldergrove early yesterday. Police and fire crews were called to the blaze at El Greko on Fraser Highway just after midnight. They say the building was fully engulfed when they got there. R-C-M-P say the suspect was allegedly trying to keep warm when the fire got out of hand and that charges are pending.
Health officials say there has been an increase in sexually transmitted infections across the country during the pandemic. One of the reasons is the lack of access to testing. But now, health departments are pushing people to get tested because the longer you wait, the higher the risk for serious consequences. Current Canadian guidelines recommend annual STI screening for everyone under 30 years old who is sexually active, as part of routine health care.
The provincial government says six child-care providers in Surrey will be receiving funding to create 531 new licensed spaces. That’s in addition to nearly 2-thousand new spaces (that) have been funded in Surrey since the launch of ChildCareBC in July 2018,”
Surrey school district staff are moving ahead with plans for a 23-classroom addition at Fleetwood Park Secondary, which was one of two promises for Surrey students made by the BC NDP during the 2020 provincial election. The addition would bring the capacity at Fleetwood Park up to 1,700. As of September, 2021, there were 1,587 students enrolled at the school, with six portables on site.
Home sales in British Columbia were still strong throughout the first quarter of 2022, but they have dropped since the record-breaking highs of the same time last year. In March, MLS recorded 11,463 residential unit sales in the province. This is a decrease of 24.1% compared to the all-time record high of March 2021 home sales last month totalled $12.6 billion, which is 12.1% less than in March 2021. A new report from the British Columbia Real Estate Association predicts that sales activity will continue to cool off throughout the latter half of 2022.
A study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal finds socializing with people who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 carries a significant risk of infection. But an unvaccinated person’s risk of infection drops when they spend time with people who are vaccinated. Co-author David Fisman says the choice to get vaccinated isn’t just personal because unvaccinated people create risk for those around them.
One person is facing charges after police were tipped off to a driver suspected of being behind the wheel while impaired by drugs. White Rock RCMP said they received 911 calls at 4 p.m. on April 20 regarding a vehicle that was missing a front tire and was “swerving” while travelling eastbound in the 14400-block of Marine Drive. According to police, officers located the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop. The driver and lone occupant of the vehicle – a Langley woman in her mid-40s – was arrested for impaired driving.
Elon Musk reached an agreement today to buy Twitter for roughly 44-billion-dollars — promising a more lenient touch to policing content on the platform. Musk uses Twitter to promote his interests, attack critics and comment on social and economic issues to more than 83-million followers. The outspoken Tesla C-E-O, who is also the world’s wealthiest person, has said he wanted to buy and privatize Twitter because he thinks it’s not living up to its potential as a platform for free speech. Twitter shares rose six per cent today to 52-dollars per share.
Kylie Jenner testified she expressed concerns to her brother Rob Kardashian about him dating Blac Chyna, because she had heard Chyna had a tendency to abuse drugs and alcohol and become violent. Jenner testified in a Los Angeles courtroom today her ex-boyfriend, the rapper Tyga, who had previously dated Chyna, had told her dark stories about Chyna and even displayed a scar he said was from a knife wound she had given him. Chyna, the former star of the reality show “Rob & Chyna,” is suing four members of the Kardashian family for defamation. She says they forced the cancellation of her show.
A 68-year-old Nanaimo man who began a hunger strike 25 days ago to protest old-growth logging says he spent three hours in hospital yesterday but will continue taking action against the government. Howard Breen says both his doctor and his daughter, a cardiac nurse, advised him to get medical treatment because he could suffer kidney or heart problems. Breen says he had no liquids for two days before ending up in hospital and even though he’s now drinking tea again, he won’t eat anything until the end of the month to draw attention to old-growth logging and related climate issues. Forests Minister Katrine Conroy says she’s concerned about the health of Breen and another man who says he hasn’t eaten for 32 days. Conroy says she told them both over the phone last week that the province is working to preserve more old-growth forests.
The niece of a woman whose remains were found 11 days after a fire tore through a hotel in Vancouver’s Gastown neighbourhood wants to know why officials initially said all 71 people in the building had been accounted for. Misty Fredericks says there’s also been no information on why the sprinkler system at the Winters Residence where Mary Ann Garlow lived with her adult son wasn’t working. Fredericks says Garlow was a residential school survivor and spent her entire adult life on the city’s Downtown Eastside after moving from Ontario in her 20s, about 40 years ago. She says Garlow’s son needs assisted living and was seriously injured when he jumped from a third-storey window of the burning building. (CTV Vancouver)
The Toronto Raptors will be without all-star guard Fred VanVleet in their lineup for tonight’s playoff game with the Philadelphia 76ers. VanVleet has been ruled out of Game 5 with a strained left hip flexor. VanVleet says he hopes to play later in the playoffs if the Raptors survive. The Raptors trail the Sixers 3-1 in the best-of-seven opening-round playoff series and need a win to stave off elimination.
A man is in custody after a fire gutted a restaurant in Aldergrove early yesterday. Police and fire crews were called to the blaze at the (El Greko) eatery on Fraser Highway just after midnight. They say the building was fully engulfed when they got there. R-C-M-P say the suspect was allegedly trying to keep warm when the fire got out of hand and that charges are pending.