Fraser Health has opened five mass COVID-19 immunization clinics in malls and recreation centres in Chilliwack, Cloverdale, South Surrey, Delta North and Coquitlam. Eligible people can start booking now for appointments starting on Monday, except for Delta North, which is already open. The health authority says the new clinics will support current immunization plans and will remain open through Phases 3 and 4 in the coming months. Planning is also underway to open four more clinics in Langley, Burnaby, New Westminster and Surrey
Teachers, support staff and administrators in the Surrey school district will be getting immunized against COVID-19 sooner than expected. Details are still being worked out, but the president of the Surrey Teachers Association, Matt Westphal, says members have been told they could receive the AstraZeneca vaccine as early as this week. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry confirmed earlier this week that Surrey is a priority because it’s a pandemic hot zone. The head of the school district also sent out a memo to all K-to-12 staff confirming scheduling is now underway with support from Fraser Health.
The Surrey and Burnaby R-C-M-P Gang Enforcement Teams say they worked together to arrest two suspects following an alleged armed robbery in Newton. Mounties say just before 8 p-m on Sunday, two men flagged down a passing vehicle under the pretence of needing help before stealing the victim’s personal property and driving away in a nearby vehicle Police say although the victim was physically unhurt, this was a distressing incident for them, and victim services have been engaged. The Surrey R-C-M-P Gang Enforcement Team says it immediately broadcasted details about the incident to other Lower Mainland police agencies and its counterpart in Burnaby arrested the suspects one hour later.
Outdoor religious services are now allowed in B-C as long as organizers create a COVID-19 safety plan and ensure that all attendees follow it. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has amended her order on gatherings to allow for outdoor worship ahead of major religious events including Easter and Passover. The province reported 682 new cases yesterday, including 144 that are variants of concern, and one new death. Premier John Horgan and provincial immunization lead Dr. Penny Ballem are set to announce new partnerships for the province’s vaccination plan today.
Police are looking for tips from the public to track down a man wanted Canada-wide after he did not return to his halfway house in Vancouver Monday night. Police say 54-year-old Kenneth Nolan Kirton has a history of committing serious, dangerous offences. Kirton is Indigenous and is described as around 5′ 5” tall and 150 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a blue jacket with black detailing on the pockets and blue jeans. He also has multiple tattoos on his chest, shoulders and arms. If you see or know where he is, call 9-1-1 immediately.
glistens with a burnt-orange hue. A dozen bottles of the wine and 320 snippets of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapevines returned to Earth in January from the International Space Station. The wine experiment is part of a longer-term effort to make plants on earth more resilient to climate change and disease by exposing them to new stresses, and to better understand the aging process, fermentation and bubbles in wine.
U-S President Joe Biden has tasked Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the White House effort to tackle the migration challenge at the U-S southern border. Biden, in delegating the matter to Harris, is seeking to replicate a dynamic that played out when he served as President Barack Obama’s vice president. Obama turned to Biden early in his first term to lead the White House effort to draw down U-S troops in the intractable war in Iraq.
British Columbia has recorded its deadliest February yet for illicit drug overdoses. There were 155 lives lost last month. The B-C Coroners Service says it is the 11th consecutive month in which the province has recorded more than 100 deaths. Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe says in a news release that the number of deaths highlights the ongoing critical risk to public health and safety from the illicit drug market.
It will be a crucial day tomorrow for the federal government’s efforts to put a national price on pollution. The Supreme Court of Canada will decide whether Ottawa’s “carbon tax” is constitutional or if the federal Liberals overstepped into provincial jurisdiction. The legal decision will also have political implications for the Liberals, whose climate plan rests heavily on the carbon tax. The decision will also be a key ruling for conservative premiers and the Opposition Conservatives in Ottawa, who have fought hard against the tax for years.
Premier John Horgan says more than 14-hundred laid off workers in the hard-hit tourism, hospitality and sport sectors are being redeployed to mass vaccination clinics. Horgan says the province is partnering with 14 hard-hit businesses including Air Canada, WestJet and the Vancouver Canucks to get some laid off employees back to work. He says some companies will fully pay their employees’ salaries, while others will not and the province will fill in the gaps. He did not specify how much the workers would be paid to provide logistical support to help move people through the clinics efficiently and safely.