Pulse FM News Update for Thursday, July 29

Officials from communities across southern B-C are issuing warnings and advice on how to stay cool during the latest heat wave forecast to hit the province. Environment Canada has issued heat warnings for most of the inner south coast and special weather statements for many other regions of the southern Interior. Temperatures are due to reach the low- to mid-30s near the coast and the upper 30s inland, with only modest cooling at night and little relief until Sunday. People are advised to drink plenty of water, avoid sunburn and to check on older adults, children and others who are particularly vulnerable.

Masks are once again mandatory in all indoor public spaces in the central Okanagan communities of Peachland, Kelowna and West Kelowna, Westbank First Nation and Lake Country after Interior Health declared an outbreak of COVID-19. More than 60 per cent of B-C’s latest cases are in that health region and people from outside the area are being discouraged from visiting for non-essential reasons for the duration of the outbreak unless they have received two doses of vaccine. Interior Health says more than 95 per cent of recent cases in the central Okanagan are among people who are not fully immunized, and additional pop-up and mobile clinics should make it easier than eve for people to get their shots.

While athletes and others from around the world have flocked to the Tokyo Olympics, Japanese officials say daily COVID-19 cases are soaring in the Tokyo area and across the country. Chief Cabinet Secretary Katunobu Kato says Japan has never experienced the expansion of the infections of this magnitude. Tokyo reported record-breaking coronavirus cases for the third straight day. People are still roaming the streets despite stay-at-home requests, making restrictions ineffective.

Canada’s blood supply is once again under strain as people resume activities and hospitals try to catch up on backlogged surgeries. Demand is increasing as several provinces lift restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tracy Smith from Canadian Blood Services says the agency has extended hours at some donation centres and mobile clinics in anticipation of an increased need. But many pandemic safety precautions remain in place, including a limit on the number of donors allowed inside at one time.

A Surrey man is accused of attacking a SkyTrain attendant at Braid station on Sunday morning. Howard Geddes Skelding, 29, is charged with assault with a weapon related to the July 25 incident, which police say happened at 7:10 a.m. Sergeant Clint Hampton, of Metro Vancouver Transit Police, said a man followed the attendant as she went into an employee crew room, stopped directly outside the door and “allegedly began running his genitals.” Hampton alleged he forced the door open, entered the room, punched the attendant in the stomach and shoved her to the ground. “The SkyTrain attendant fought her attacker as he attempted to pull her to the ground, punching her in the head and pulling her hair. She was eventually able to open the crew room door, with the suspect still trying to drag her back in, before she was finally able to free herself from him,” Hampton said. “Transit Police were on scene within minutes and arrested the suspect who was attempting to leave the station. Metro Vancouver Transit Police would like to commend the SkyTrain attendant for her bravery and courage. Not only was she able to fight off her attacker, but also was able to simultaneously use her radio effectively, allowing police to respond quickly.” Geddes has been held in custody and is scheduled to appear in New Westminster provincial court on August 11.

BC health officials announced 204 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the province to 149,648. In a written statement, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said that there are 1,055 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Of the active cases, 51 individuals are currently hospitalized, 20 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. New and total active cases, broken down by health region, are as follows:

Fraser Health: 58 new cases, 241 total active cases
Vancouver Coastal Health: 23 new cases, 139 total active cases
Interior Health: 107 new cases, 600 total active cases
Northern Health: Two new cases, 19 total active cases
Island Health: 14 new cases, 51 total active cases
Outside of Canada: No new cases, five total active cases

There have been no new COVID-19-related deaths over the past 24 hours, for a total of 1,771 deaths in British Columbia. To date, 81.0% of all eligible people 12 and over have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. In total, 6,724,850 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in BC. 146,810 people who tested positive have now recovered.

The rebuilt ZARA store at Metrotown Mall in Burnaby opened last week, growing from its previous footprint of about 18,000 sq ft to about 40,000 sq ft. The spacious store interior offers expanded collections for men, women, and children/babies, as well as more change room capacity. As well, customers have the option to use self-scan check-out registers or make a home delivery. Zara achieved its expansion through reconfiguring and narrowing the common mall corridor, and absorbing several adjacent retail units. The added floor area helps address the severe capacity constraints of this particular Zara location, which is one of the mall’s busiest clothing stores. Before to the pandemic, the previous ZARA store in this locations interior was very overcrowded and worn down from its high traffic. The re-built store offers a much more pleasant shopping experience to combat the previous issues.