It’s Election Day in the U-S, but it is not certain that a winner will be declared tonight. Nearly 100-million Americans voted early by mail or absentee ballot, and the counting of those ballots will likely take at least another day or two. Democratic challenger Joe Biden comes into today with several paths to victory, while President Donald Trump has a narrower but still feasible road to clinch 270 Electoral College votes. While the House of Representatives is expected to remain under Democrat control, the party would need to gain another three seats in the Senate if they are to take control from the Republicans.
Canadians may be watching the election south of the border with worry, as a new poll suggests many of us are fearful of a complete breakdown in the U-S if a clear winner is not declared tonight. The survey found 77 per cent of respondents are concerned there will be significant civil unrest or violence in the streets over the next few days. Another 72 per cent said they were worried U-S President Donald Trump will not accept the result if he loses.
Another COVID-19 testing center is opening in North Surrey as new cases in the Fraser Health region continue to drive up B-C’s case counts. Of the one-thousand-120 people diagnosed with the illness between Friday and Monday, 830 of them were in the Fraser Health region. The health authority’s president, Doctor Victoria Lee, says the new centre will be open next Thursday to process between 500 and 800 tests each day. Lee says even small gatherings are risky and the so-called “safe six” contacts should also be the same six people. Today Doctor Bonnie Henry reported 299 of COVID-19 along with three new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 272 deaths in British Columbia
B.C. recorded 1,120 new COVID-19 cases for the three reporting periods over the weekend, as well as six deaths. It is the largest three-day total of cases in B.C. since the pandemic started 11 months ago. Of the new cases, 352 were recorded Friday to Saturday, followed by a single-day record 389 over Saturday and Sunday, and 379 more from Sunday to Monday. Of the total, 830 — or 75 per cent — were in the Fraser Health region. Another 234 were in the Vancouver Coastal Health region. Fraser Health declared a coronavirus outbreak Monday evening at a dance school in Chilliwack. The health authority said in a news release that 26 individuals from Capella Dance Academy have so far tested positive.
More than 10 potential COVID-19 exposures at public schools in Chilliwack have teachers and some parents demanding stronger safety and information sharing protocols, according to the president of the teachers association in that city. However, the Fraser Health region listed just one Chilliwack school, Tyson elementary, on its exposure list Monday.
Surrey fire crews were called to a South Surrey marina for a “challenging” rescue Monday (Nov. 2), after a woman became stuck at the top of a sailboat mast. It happened in the early evening near Nico Wynd Estates, Assistant fire Chief Steve Serbic said the report came in shortly before 5 p.m., describing a woman “trapped at the top of her mast, approximately 40 feet in the air.” Serbic said the woman, 59, had climbed the mast to fix a problem, and became stuck in her bosun’s chair at the top when her rope slipped off of a pulley, preventing her from going up or down. As firefighters couldn’t access the site with a ladder truck, nor could they climb the mast to free her – as that would have created an even more dangerous scenario – they sent a cellphone up to her and talked her through the rescue via FaceTime. They managed to successfully instruct her on how to get down safely with The process taking just under two hours,
One so-called murder hornet has been discovered near Abbotsford just over a week after a nest was destroyed in Washington state. The B-C agriculture ministry says single hornets were also found in Langley earlier this year and in Langley and White Rock last year. A group of the invasive hornets can kill an entire honeybee hive within hours and the ministry is warning bee keepers to be on the lookout. Entomologists in the U-S destroyed a nest not far from the B-C border on October 24th as part of their efforts to prevent the hornets from gaining a foothold in the Pacific Northwest.
Vancouver city council will vote tomorrow on whether to take the first steps toward a possible bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics. That includes asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier John Horgan if they’d provide necessary financial support. Letters would also be sent to the Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee and four local First Nations seeking their input. A similar motion last winter on a possible bid to return the Olympics to Vancouver after the 2010 Games was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Delta firefighters battled a large blaze at a cannabis facility yesterday. Canopy Growth says the fire was in a greenhouse that hadn’t been in operation for several months. Local police say no one was in the greenhouse at the time and no injuries were reported. The cause of fire, which produced billowing clouds of smoke, is under investigation.
The COVID-19 pandemic may have put a stop to the Halloween thrills of Potters’ House of Horrors in Newton this year, but the garden shop’s annual Christmas Store in Cloverdale is up and running, as always. At close to 28,000 square feet, the store is billed as the largest of its kind in Western Canada. Now until Dec. 24, Christmas-related items by the thousands are for sale, including ornaments, designer trees, collectibles, stocking-stuffers, food and more.