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Police are expected to release more details in their investigation into Saturday’s stabbings around Lynn Valley library in North Vancouver. The attacks  left a young woman dead and y six other people seriously wounded.  A 28-year-old man was charged yesterday with second-degree murder, and is undergoing surgery for self-inflicted wounds. The alleged attacker his known to the police and has a criminal record.  A memorial has been set up near the library and the community continues to rally around the victims as we all struggle to understand how and why this happened.

 

 Canada is set to get a major boost in it’s vaccination program with 3.3 million doses set to arrive this week. Almost 1.2-million shots of the Pfizer/BioNTech are expected to arrive, along with 1.5 Million doses of the Astra Zeneca vaccine, and 600,000 shots from Moderna.

  

Hundreds gathered in Vancouver yesterday to condemn anti-Asian racism, while similar rallies were held in Penticton and the Tri-Cities. The events come in the wake of shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, which many have called a hate crime, and amid a surge in anti-Asian racism at home. Recent Statistics have shown anti-Asian hate crimes were up more than 700 per cent in the city last year. Premier John Horgan said last month that an anti-racism bill his government is developing would head to the legislature soon.

 

 The two B-C health regions hit hardest by COVID-19 have opened age-based vaccine appointments for people aged 73 and up. Fraser Health says people can book their appointment online 24/7 or by phone starting at noon on the day they become eligible. Vancouver Coastal Health says people 73 and up in Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver and Richmond may call to book their shot. People age 70 and up on the Sunshine Coast, Bowen Island and in Whistler, Squamish, Pemberton can also call now.

 

 Tug boats and nearby ships blasted their horns as the huge container ship stuck in Egypt’s Suez Canal wa re-floated overnight. Tugboats and salvage crews took advantage of high tides to free the Ever Given from the shoreline. The ship has been lodged in a single-lane stretch of the canal for nearly a week, and though its been partially freed from the bank, sources say there is no timeline yet for the canals reopening. About 12 per cent of global trade by volume goes through the Suez Canal, and its accounts for 30% of the world’s daily shipping container freight.

 

The provinces are suspending use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in people under age 55. It comes after updated recommendations from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization over concerns about a possible link between the vaccine and rare blood clots. Health Canada says it hasn’t received any reports of blood clots in Canada. The government agency last week changed its label on the vaccine to warn about the rare risk of blood clots. 

 

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is banning indoor dining at bars and restaurants and indoor activity at fitness centres for three weeks starting at midnight. Henry describes the move as a “circuit breaker” amid concerns that more infectious variants are driving “exponential growth” of COVID-19 cases. She says the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort will also be closed until at least April 19th as cases spread in the community. Henry has also reintroduced restrictions on indoor religious services that she just announced would ease last week.

 

BC officials reported 2,518 new cases of covid 19 over the weekend along with six new deaths.  There were 936 cases from Friday to Saturday, the highest single day figure recorded in the province thus far. In addition, there were 805 cases reported from Saturday to Sunday and 777 from Sunday to Monday.

 

Surrey Mounties say a woman suffering from gunshot wounds was taken to hospital in serious condition just before midnight Sunday, March 28, after being shot in a house in the 16300-block of 113B Avenue. Corporal Elenore Sturko said the suspect took off before police arrived. “The initial indications are that this shooting is between parties known to one another with no continued risk to the public,” Sturko said. “This incident does not appear to be related to the Lower Mainland Gang conflict; however, police are investigating possible links to the drug trade.”

 

Health Canada is demanding AstraZeneca do a detailed study on the risks and benefits of its COVID-19 vaccine across multiple age groups. There have been more reports of patients in Europe developing blood clots following vaccination, although the agency says there have been no such cases documented in Canada. The National Advisory Committee on Immunizations is not pulling AstraZeneca’s approval in Canada, but it is changing its recommendations to specify the shot should not be given to anyone under the age of 55. 

 

“Pitch Perfect” star Rebel Wilson is going to the dogs. The actress hosts the new competition T-V series “Pooch Perfect,” which debuts tomorrow night. Based on a show in Wilson’s native Australia, “Pooch Perfect” features reality star Lisa Vanderpump, groomer Jorge Bendersky and veterinarian Callie Harris judging the skills of dog groomers trying to win 100-thousand dollars.