British Columbia’s public safety minister is asking residents to pay close attention to the weather forecast as more storms are expected later this week. Mike Farnworth says more than 65-hundred people have been registered as evacuees, and those whose homes were flooded last week are eligible for a two-thousand dollar grant through the Canadian Red Cross and the province. Environment Canada is warning a new storm is expected to hit the B-C’s inner south coast tonight, dropping 40 to 80 millimetres of rain before easing on Friday. The weather agency says another so-called atmospheric river is forecast for the south coast on Saturday, with total accumulations from both storms expected to exceed 100 millimetres.
Temporary foreign workers who had to evacuate farms when flooding hit southern B.C. last week are “stuck in limbo,” unable to work, and ineligible for government supports like employment insurance. The Migrant Rights Network says grassroots efforts are ongoing to make sure workers have the basics like food, shelter, and clothing. But without being paid for the 40 hours of work per week they were promised, and unable to simply get a job elsewhere due to employer-specific permits — the situation is becoming more dire by the day for the workers and their loved ones back home.
Vancouver Coastal Health has taken to social media to combat anti-vaccine misinformation being circulated online, with Facebook posts fueling rumours that the COVID-19 shot is causing a dramatic increase in stillborn babies at Lions Gate hospital. VCH says the people posting the misinformation are not connected to the health authority or the hospital — even if they claim to be and assures vaccines are “safe and recommended for both mother and fetus,” adding vaccines are safe in pregnancy and There is absolutely no increased risk of stillbirth.
The Vancouver Canucks have scored a victory for those who have been affected by B-C’s recent flooding. Canucks Sports & Entertainment and the Canucks for Kids Fund say they have raised one million dollars through three special 50/50 raffles during the team’s latest homestand that ended Sunday. The raffles raised more than 1.8 million dollars and a statement from the Canucks organization says more than 917-thousand dollars will go directly to flood relief efforts, while the Canucks for Kids fund is donating the remainder to push the total to an even million.
B.C.’s long-anticipated rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged five to 11 will get underway next week. Parents and caregivers who’ve registered their children through the province’s Get Vaccinated website will start to receive their invitations to book their shots on Monday, Nov. 29th Doses of the vaccine will also start to be administered the same day. Invitations from the province will be sent out in the same order children were registered. As of Tuesday, 91,000 of the 360,000 eligible children in B.C. were already signed up.
B-C Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says the province is bracing for more rainstorms. Areas of the province are already struggling to recover from devastating flooding in the Lower Mainland, the Fraser Valley and parts of the interior. Wind and rainfall warnings blanket most of the B-C coast and they come after about a dozen so-called atmospheric rivers have saturated land in the province since September. Six people are either dead or missing. Farnworth says even routine rainfall may cause already-swollen rivers to rise to dangerous heights as land has been saturated by about a dozen atmospheric rivers since September. He is urging residents to prepare by storm-proofing properties, preparing to evacuate and watching for updates. He says supply chains are stabilizing, gas shortages are starting to ease and some evacuees are being allowed to return to their homes since last week’s floods.
BC health officials announced 322 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the province to 216,334. In a written statement, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said that there are 3,015 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Of the active cases, 318 individuals are currently in hospital, 109 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
Broken down by health region, the new cases and total active cases are as follows:
- Fraser Health: 100 new cases, 1,095 total active cases
- Vancouver Coastal Health: 50 new cases, 472 total active cases
- Interior Health: 86 new cases, 606 total active cases
- Northern Health: 44 new cases, 415 total active cases
- Island Health: 42 new cases, 421 total active cases
- Outside of Canada: No new cases, six total active cases
There have been nine COVID-19-related deaths over the past 24 hours, for a total of 2,313 deaths in BC. Of the new deaths, three were in Vancouver Coastal Health, one was in Interior Health, and five were in Northern Health. To date, 91% of all eligible people 12 and older in BC have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine; 87.4% have received their second dose. From November 16 to November 22, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 58.1% of cases, and from November 9 to November 22, they accounted for 69.2% of hospitalizations.
Past week cases (November 16 to November 22) – Total 2,663
- Not vaccinated: 1,438 (54%)
- Partially vaccinated: 109 (4.1%)
- Fully vaccinated: 1,116 (41.9%)
Past two weeks cases hospitalized (November 9 to 22) – Total 299
- Not vaccinated: 184 (61.5%)
- Partially vaccinated: 23 (7.7%)
- Fully vaccinated: 92 (30.8%)
Past week, cases per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (November 16 to November 22)
- Not vaccinated: 193.8
- Partially vaccinated: 48.1
- Fully vaccinated: 25.1
Past two weeks, cases hospitalized per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (November 9 to 22)
- Not vaccinated: 38.4
- Partially vaccinated: 15.8
- Fully vaccinated: 2
B-C’s provincial health officer says immunization clinics for children across B-C will begin administering COVID-19 vaccines on Monday. Dr. Bonnie Henry says COVID-19 data from the B-C Centre for Disease Control from November 16th to 22nd shows cases among children between five and 11 years old are starting to decrease, dropping below 500 for the week and no children were sent to hospital. She says the arrival of the pediatric vaccine will protect more children and families and help kids return to activities that benefit their physical and mental health with a reduced risk of infection. Henry says children must be at least five years old to receive the vaccine and children who turn 12 years old after receiving their first dose at age 11 will receive an adult dose as their second shot.
Richmond police are warning the public about romance-cryptocurrency scams after receiving five reports over a 10-day period this month. R-C-M-P media relations officer Adriana O’Malley says these scams can be traumatizing for the victims who believe they are involved in a true romantic relationship. She says fraudsters often use dating apps or other social media sites to approach their victim, convince them to buy digital currencies and then, after receiving the funds, cut off all communication. O’Malley says Richmond police have investigated 73 fraud files related to cryptocurrency so far this year.