Pulse FM News Update for Thursday, October 21

The Vancouver Police Board will hear a report today recommending the force change its handcuffing policy after the arrest of an Indigenous man and his 12-year-old granddaughter at a bank in 2019. The police board says it launched a review of the department’s protocols when Maxwell Johnson and his granddaughter were handcuffed after trying to open an account at the Bank of Montreal using their government-issued status cards. The new policy recommends that handcuffs be used when reasonable, proportionate to the risk and necessary to fulfil a legitimate policing objective when the officer believes using cuffs is necessary. The Heiltsuk Nation, of which Johnson is a member of, says it will release a statement on the proposed changes later today.

A group of doctors in British Columbia is calling on the province to re-evaluate its approach to combating COVID-19. The group, called Protect our Province B-C, is made up of a range of doctors and medical researchers, and held a panel discussion Wednesday highlighting how the virus is spread through aerosol transmission. Doctor Victor Leung, an infectious disease physician and medical microbiologist, says the province and public health have been too slow to amend mandates to limit the spread of the virus. Health Minister Adrian Dix says the province has made an
“enormous” amount of information on the virus available to the public, while he defended provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry’s approach to the pandemic

A big wedding celebration in Surrey, B-C on Tuesday night, involving a lit Ferris wheel, drew onlookers and complaints. The City of Surrey says bylaw officers, along with Surrey R-C-M-P members, were called to a home after receiving multiple noise and traffic complaints from neighbors. Officers found a large Ferris wheel on the grounds of the home and what appeared to be a wedding celebration. Bylaw officers issued 15 tickets for parking infractions and also
had a number of vehicles towed

B-C Children’s Hospital says its emergency department is seeing an “unusually high” number of patients with respiratory viruses over the past month. Dr. Claire Seaton says nearly 30 per cent of all emergency department visits from mid-September to mid-October were for respiratory-related illnesses, up nearly 10 per cent from before the pandemic. The hospital says it’s seeing more cases involving respiratory syncytial virus, one of the common cold viruses, and parainfluenza, and earlier than usual. It says the emergency department has also been testing a high number of children for COVID-19, about 30 per cent of E-R visits, which may correlate with visits for respiratory illness.

Surrey has become the first municipal jurisdiction in Metro Vancouver to ban plastic checkout bags. The ban on plastic bags and Styrofoam food containers within Surrey is now in effect, following Surrey City Council’s decision on Monday that provided final approvals to a new single-use items bylaw. Businesses can no longer provide plastic shopping bags, and polystyrene foam cups, takeout containers, plates, and bowls. Additionally, there is a new minimum charge of $0.25 per paper checkout bag and $2 per reusable checkout bag. However, there will not be an enforcement from now through the end of 2021, as the municipal government will focus on education and outreach on the policy changes. Enforcement will begin on January 1, 2022, transitioning from compliance audits to warnings, before fines and penalties are issued.

A Retail Council of Canada survey suggests Canadians are willing to spend big this holiday season. Shoppers are preparing to return to stores in greater numbers a year after the COVID-19 pandemic prompted many to shop online. British Columbians plan to be the country’s big spenders, shelling out 958-dollars. The national average is 792-dollars — up 14 per cent from last year.The online survey also found that Canadians are starting their holiday shopping earlier, with 36 per cent expecting to begin in November.

The federal government unveiled its plans for a standardized COVID-19 vaccine passport system on Thursday. Beginning October 30, all travellers 12 and up will require a vaccine passport for travel on federally regulated flights, rail travel, and marine travel. The new international vaccine passport will use the SMART Health Card that some provinces, including BC and Ontario, use for their vaccine passports, according to the federal government. It will show the passenger’s name and date of birth, along with their COVID-19 vaccine history. The templated image shows that the passport will include the Canada logo on the top right and the name of the province on the top left. Currently, travellers wishing to enter Canada must download the ArriveCAN app and put their proof of vaccination and PCR tests in the app 72 hours before their arrival in Canada. This also applies to Canadian travellers returning to Canada.

BC health officials announced 715 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the province to 200,249. In a written statement, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said that there are 4,965 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Of the active cases, 377 individuals are currently in hospital, 136 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.

New cases and total active cases, broken down by health region, are as follows:

Fraser Health: 285 new cases, 1,971 total active cases
Vancouver Coastal Health: 60 new cases, 686 total active cases
Interior Health: 137 new cases, 808 total active cases
Northern Health: 172 new cases, 937 total active cases
Island Health: 61 new cases, 504 total active cases
Outside of Canada: No new cases, 59 total active cases

There have been four COVID-19-related deaths over the past 24 hours, for a total of 2,096 deaths in BC. All of these deaths occurred in Northern Health.

From October 13 to 19, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 66.4% of cases and from October 6 to 19, they accounted for 76.2% of hospitalizations.

Past week cases (October 13 to 19) – Total 4,351

Not vaccinated: 2,561 (58.9%)
Partially vaccinated: 325 (7.5%)
Fully vaccinated: 1,465 (33.7%)

Past two weeks cases hospitalized (October 6 to 19) – Total 445

Not vaccinated: 314 (70.6%)
Partially vaccinated: 25 (5.6%)
Fully vaccinated: 106 (23.8%)

Past week, cases per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (October 13 to 19)

Not vaccinated: 308.7
Partially vaccinated: 95.6
Fully vaccinated: 34.5

Past two weeks, cases hospitalized per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (October 6 to 19)

Not vaccinated: 53.9
Partially vaccinated: 11.0
Fully vaccinated: 2.4

To date, 89.8% of all eligible people 12 and over have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine; 84.4% have received their second dose.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government and the provinces have reached agreement on a vaccine passport for all travel. He says several jurisdictions have already begun to roll out the new proofs of vaccination. In a technical briefing, government officials said all provinces plan to have their version of the Canadian document available by the end of November.

B-C’s premier says the rules around travelling to and from the U-S when it comes to COVID-19 testing make little sense to him. John Horgan says he’s concerned the level of testing isn’t strict enough to limit people who have potentially contracted COVID-19. He says his concerns around testing led, in part, to his decision to turn down an invitation from Washington state’s governor to visit. Horgan added that he’s worried B-C residents may fake COVID-19 symptoms in order to get a free test that allows them to travel south.

The Surrey Board of Trade says it has always supported a centralized, Canada-wide approach to COVID-19 proof-of immunization that could be easily used to confirm vaccination status for international and domestic use. The prime minister announced this morning that B-C, the federal government and the other provinces and territories have agreed on a standardized document _ but B-C is one of the provinces whose so-called vaccine passport falls outside the requirements set for Smart health cards. It means new documents will be needed here _ and a statement from the board of trade says many questions are still unanswered _ including how long it will take to harmonize all the paperwork. Officials at a technical briefing leading up to this morning’s federal announcement said all provinces should have their version of the Canadian document ready by the end of next month.

Vancouver police say charges have now been approved against four people accused of an alleged kidnapping plot in early September. Constable Tania Visintin (VIZ’-in-teen) says Vancouver detectives began watching a group in August that was believed to be linked to a series of armed home invasions and break-ins across Metro Vancouver. Officers were nearby on September 8th when a victim in Richmond was taken from a vehicle at gunpoint, assaulted and tied up _ but police were able to rescue the injured person and arrest four suspects following a brief chase. Kidnapping, assault causing bodily harm and other charges have now been laid against 24-year-old Harman Parmar and 30-year-olds Michael Husain and Ashley Smith, while a publication ban prevents naming the fourth accused _ but court records show all remain in custody and are due back in court next month.