A baby is safe after they were abducted yesterday morning when someone stole a car in Cloverdale. The one-year-old was found within an hour. Police said at 8:35 a.m. they received a report of a vehicle stolen in the Cloverdale area while a child was still in their car seat in the back. Police say the vehicle was parked and left running in the driveway of a home. Surrey RCMP immediately deployed multiple resources including all available frontline officers, plain-clothes units and the Police Dog Service. About an hour later, a bystander spotted the vehicle abandoned with the baby still inside. The baby was not physically harmed. Police are still searching for suspects.
Christmas is just around the corner and people beginning to plan their holidays, Dr. Bonnie Henry shared some advice at the press conference yesterday afternoon. Her message is clear: “Keep your indoor groups small.” So If you were planning on Christmas 2021 being the big family reunion, Dr. Henry advises against it and suggests inviting over just one or two additional people from your extended circle. She is also urges you to make sure anyone being invited to a gathering is fully vaccinated and suggested having an outdoor gathering if you are planning to have a bigger event.
B.C. is finally getting doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, with limited supply expected early next week. Dr. Bonnie Henry says the supply will be first prioritized to health-care workers affected by the Public Health Order, which calls for all staff who work in acute and community care to be vaccinated. Apparently thousands of people have reached out to her in hopes of receiving a dose of Johnson & Johnson. Mainly because its one shot and a viral vector vaccine. For those that would like the J&J dose, a central call number will be set up and Henry says details will be provided next week.
Surrey RCMP are reporting a “surge” in residential break-and-enters where the culprit used a garage door fob to gain access to a home. During one week, in October police investigated five break-ins where the suspect accessed the home through the garage. In each case, the suspect gained access to the garage via a fob found in an insecure vehicle parked on the street. Police say the best preventative steps homeowners can take is to lock doors, windows, and to not leave a garage door opener, or fob, inside their vehicle.
The story of Trevor Greene, who survived being struck in the head with an axe during a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan in 2006, inspired the 312-million-dollar Legion Veterans Village in Surrey, B-C that will open late next year. Greene says his experience will help provide the framework for veterans to receive the care and support they need to recover. He is taking on an advisory role at the centre, which will host clinical research studies in rehabilitation and brain health, including P-T-S-D.
R-C-M-P say a 17-year-old boy has been killed in a single-vehicle crash in Langley. Police say a luxury S-U-V is believed to have been travelling at a high rate of speed when it went off the road and collided with a tree just after midnight this morning. They say the 17-year-old driver from Langley did not survive the crash. He was the only person in the vehicle.
On the eve of Remembrance Day, the Trudeau government has announced it will hire more staff to deal with backlogs and huge caseloads at Veterans Affairs. Minister Lawrence MacAulay commented after The Canadian Press published a series of articles identifying some of the most pressing challenges for veterans. One of those is a massive backlog of applications for assistance and a shortage of case managers. MacAulay says adding staff will form a key part of the government’s response, but he couldn’t say how many people would be hired or when.
BC health officials announced 555 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the province to 210,758. In a written statement, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said that there are 4,321 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Of the active cases, 404 individuals are currently in hospital, 117 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: 197 new cases, 1,820 total active cases
- Vancouver Coastal Health: 50 new cases, 505 total active cases
- Interior Health: 114 new cases, 766 total active cases
- Northern Health: 106 new cases, 573 total active cases
- Island Health: 88 new cases, 598 total active cases
- Outside of Canada: No new cases, 59 total active cases
There have been 11 COVID-19-related deaths over the past 24 hours, for a total of 2,234 deaths in BC. Of the new deaths, five were in Fraser Health, two were in Vancouver Coastal Health, one was in Interior Health, and three were in Island Health. To date, 90.5% of all eligible people 12 and older in BC have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine; 86.4% have received their second dose. From November 2 to November 8, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 63.1% of cases, and from October 26 to November 8, they accounted for 70.8% of hospitalizations.
Past week cases (November 2 to November 8) – Total 3,489
- Not vaccinated: 2,020 (57.9%)
- Partially vaccinated: 182 (5.2%)
- Fully vaccinated: 1,287 (36.9%)
Past two weeks cases hospitalized (October 26 to November 8) – Total 417
- Not vaccinated: 271 (65%)
- Partially vaccinated: 24 (5.8%)
- Fully vaccinated: 122 (29.3%)
Past week, cases per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (November 2 to November 8)
- Not vaccinated: 258.7
- Partially vaccinated: 64.7
- Fully vaccinated: 29.5
Past two weeks, cases hospitalized per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (October 26 to November 8)
- Not vaccinated: 53.6
- Partially vaccinated: 13.9
- Fully vaccinated: 2.7