One person has suffered life-threatening injuries after being struck by a vehicle in Surrey last night. Surrey RCMP say they were called to the intersection of King George Boulevard and 92 Avenue just before 7:30. “The driver remained on scene and is cooperating with police.” The crash caused an hours-long closure of the intersection, with police asking people to avoid the area.
The BC Centre for Disease Control has once again changed its isolation guidelines for people with COVID-19. An update posted online yesterday says “The amount of time you need to self-isolate depends on your vaccination status and age” Now, unvaccinated adults require the longest period of isolation, with 10 days. That’s cut in half for those under 18 only being told to isolate for five. This includes children under five who are not eligible for the shot. Those who are fully vaccinated, regardless of age, are being told to isolate for five days. The guidelines only apply to those who have a confirmed case of COVID-19. Due to high case counts and limited testing capacity, anyone with mild symptoms is told to forego a test and stay home until symptoms subside. The guidelines for isolation of close contacts have also been changed, close contacts are not required to self-isolate at all or take any special measures.
Thirteen people have died in B.C. due to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, as the number of people hospitalized continues to climb. There were six deaths in Fraser Health, four in Vancouver Coastal, one in Interior Health, and two in Island Health, bringing the total to over 2,500. There are 895 people in the hospital, an increase of 38.5 per cent increase since Friday, when the province changed how it reports this number. There are 115 people in the ICU up 21 per cent since Friday.
Now that Save on Foods has limited capacity in its B.C. stores due to COVID-19 concerns, the union representing grocery workers is calling on other companies to follow suit to protect both workers and shoppers from the highly contagious Omicron variant. The chain is limiting the number of shoppers allowed in all 110 locations in BC. You can expect to see reinstated signage and floor markers in stores starting this weekend. Stores will also be enforcing a 50% capacity limit going forward.
The B-C government is doubling the amount of financial help available for businesses forced to remain closed for at least another month due to COVID-19 restrictions. It says businesses including bars, nightclubs and lounges that don’t serve full meals are now eligible for COVID-19 closure relief grants of up to 20-thousand dollars, based on staffing levels. The Province says the extension of the grant program originally offering 10-thousand dollars to business ordered to close in December will cost four-million dollars. Gyms and other fitness facilities that have been allowed to reopen can claim the original amount.
British Columbia health officials announced on Thursday that there have been 2,150 new COVID-19 cases reported over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the province to 305,715. In a written statement, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said that there are 34,835 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Of the active cases, 891 (-4) COVID-positive individuals are currently hospitalized, a new record for BC, and 119 (+4) are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
New cases and total active cases are broken down by health region as follows:
- Fraser Health: 576 new cases, 16,516 total active cases
- Vancouver Coastal Health: 454 new cases, 8,553 total active cases
- Interior Health: 563 new cases, 6,067 total active cases
- Northern Health: 203 new cases, 1,582 total active cases
- Island Health: 354 new cases, 2,104 total active cases
- Outside of Canada: No new cases, 13 total active cases
There have been 15 new COVID-19-related deaths in British Columbia, for a total of 2,520 deaths in the province.
A recent study shows young children might be able to overcome their peanut allergies if treated at an early enough age. The researchers gave increasing amounts of peanut protein powder to a group of toddlers to build up their tolerance for peanuts. Dr. Stacie Jones, a study co-author from the University of Arkansas for Medical Services says the findings suggest there’s “a window of opportunity” early in life when treatment could have a lasting impact.
B-C’s anti-gang squad says recent shootings in the Lower Mainlandwhere one person was killed and four bystanders were wounded appear linked to the street-level drug trade. Superintendent Duncan Pound says police investigating the shootings in Langley, Surrey and Coquitlam believe there aren’t any direct links to the Lower Mainland gang conflict. But he says street-level violence can escalate, drawing in groups that are connected to the gang conflict. Pound says police agencies are working together to ensure the violence doesn’t escalate.
Netflix delivered its latest quarter of disappointing subscriber growth during the final three months of last year, as tougher competition is undercutting the video streaming leader. The California-based company added 8.3-million worldwide subscribers during the October-December period, about 200-thousand fewer than management had forecast. The disappointing news caused Netflix’s stock price to plunge by more than 19 per cent in extended trading after the numbers came out, deepening a steep decline during the past two months. Last week, Netflix raised its price by roughly 10 per cent within the U-S and Canada _ a move that could cause some subscribers to cancel the service, based on the company’s past history with previous price hikes.
R-C-M-P say they are recommending charges against a man who stole five-thousand dollars worth of mail and packages from his neighbours. Mounties say leading up to Christmas between October and December, they received a number of complaints of package theft from the same apartment building in Burnaby. They arrested a 42-year-old man who lives in the building. The investigation continues but police say they are forwarding at least 10 charges of theft to the B-C Prosecution Service for consideration
Correctional Service Canada says 28 inmates at a medium-security prison in Abbotsford, B-C, have tested positive for COVID-19. It says 74-point-5 per cent of inmates at the Matsqui Institution are fully vaccinated and 44.6 per cent have had their third dose. The virus is spreading through correctional facilities across the country. As of Tuesday, there were 110 active cases in B-C facilities — more than half of which were at the Kent Institution in Agassiz.