school between 1899 and 1959 and some deaths have been recorded but Indigenous leaders say records are incomplete. The plan includes interviewing survivors who attended the school, gathering all records related to its history with the Catholic Church and doing a remote sensing search for bodies possibly buried on the former school grounds
Kelowna’s struggle to control a COVID-19 outbreak has forced some hospitals to cancel surgeries, as beds fill up with patients who have the virus, most of whom are unvaccinated. Interior Health has confirmed to local media some elective surgeries are being rescheduled or cancelled. However, some of the procedures, while not emergency, could be life saving. Cancer specialist Dr. Gareth Eason says one of his patients had his cancer surgery cancelled because there just isn’t enough beds. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry confirmed Tuesday some of the surgery delays are a result of health care workers getting sick. On Friday, Henry announced more restrictions for the Central Okanagan region, including limits on indoor and outdoor gatherings, due to the spike in COVID-19 cases The region, which includes Kelowna, saw some restrictions imposed July. 28, however rising numbers prompted the province to bring in more.
B.C. has recorded another 395 COVID-19 cases, as the daily figures continue on an upward trend. Interior Health, has recorded less than half (187) of cases for the first time in a couple weeks. That region has been the big concern due to a spike in cases in the Central Okanagan, in particular. Fraser Health recorded the next-highest number of COVID-19 cases with 100, while there were 61 in Vancouver Coastal Health. Another 31 cases were confirmed in Island Health and Northern Health recorded 15. On the vaccine front, the number of people receiving their first dose is slowly increasing, standing at 82.1 per cent of eligible British Columbians on Tuesday. The province says 70.6 per cent of people aged 12 and up are fully vaccinated. On Monday, B.C. announced it is reducing the time between COVID-19 vaccine doses to 28 days.
British Columbians’ air conditioners will be put to good use once again as another heat wave is set to begin this week. Meteorologist Michael Kuss is calling the peak of the wave – which is expected Thursday – “a day of concern.” Nighttime lows aren’t expected to dip below 17C Thursday. For the rest of the week and through the weekend, temperatures could hit the high 20s to low to mid-30s in some parts of the province. In some areas further east, like Pitt Meadows, it may feel like the low 40s. Areas that will feel the heat the most are the Sea to Sky region, parts of Vancouver Island, the Thompson-Okanagan, the southern Kootenays and Fraser Canyon. The difference between this round of hot weather and June’s deadly heatwave is the overnight lows will be in the mid-teens. You’re urged to take precautions like staying indoors between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., wear sunscreen of at least 30 SPF, and drink lots of water. You should also monitor for signs of heat-related illness such as dizziness, nausea, headache, shortness of breath, swelling of hands and feet and extreme thirst. Between June 25 and July 1, 815 people died from a sudden death across the province. This was a four-time increase over the average for that time period of 198. Heat is believed to be a factor in many of the deaths.
The number of sexual assaults in the city. Constable Tania Visintin (VIZ’-in-teen) says there was a 129 per cent increase in stranger sexual assault last month, when compared with July of last year. She says the percentage increase is even higher in the Granville Entertainment District — with eight reported since July 1st, ranging from groping to rape. In addition to actively investigating the cases, Visintin says police are relaunching their “Hands off!” social media campaign that began in 2019 aimed at informing potential offenders that groping is a crime. (The Canadian Press)
Nearly 270 wildfires are burning in all corners of B-C today as the B-C Wildfire Service says 10 have been sparked in the last two days. Statistics from Emergency Management B-C show evacuation orders cover nearly 54-hundred properties while residents in almost 31-thousand properties have been warned to be ready to run on short notice. Over 36-hundred firefighters are battling the flames, backed by more than 200 helicopters and air tankers. The wildfire service says nearly 66-hundred square kilometres has burned since the start of the fire season on April 1st.
The B-C Conservation Officers Service says a five-year-old boy is the latest person to be attacked by a coyote in Stanley Park. The service says the boy was running ahead of his family near Prospect Point at about 9:30 last night when the animal lunged and bit him on the leg. The parents chased off the coyote and the boy has been treated and released from hospital. Numerous people have been bitten by coyotes in the park and the conservation service has searched out and destroyed several animals.
BC health officials announced 536 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the province to 153,849. In a written statement, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said that there are 3,585 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Of the active cases, 72 individuals are currently hospitalized, 29 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: 135 new cases, 699 total active cases
- Vancouver Coastal Health: 105 new cases, 493 total active cases
- Interior Health: 258 new cases, 1,045 total active cases
- Northern Health: 12 new cases, 116 total active cases
- Island Health: 26 new cases, 222 total active cases
- Outside of Canada: No new cases, 10 total active cases
There has been one new COVID-19-related death over the past 24 hours, for a total of 1,778 deaths in British Columbia. To date, 82.2% of all eligible people 12 and over have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. In total, 7,106,409 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in BC. 148,446 people who tested positive have now recovered.