Coronavirus

All proceeds from London Drugs’ Cards for All collection will be donated to United Way’s COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund. (Courtesy of London Drugs)

‘You cohabitate my heart’: New Valentine’s Day cards reflect unique times

All proceeds from London Drugs’ card collection go to COVID-19 relief efforts

All proceeds from London Drugs’ Cards for All collection will be donated to United Way’s COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund. (Courtesy of London Drugs)
Cottonwoods Care Centre residents in Kelowna celebrate receiving their COVID-19 vaccinations. Photo: Interior Health

For B.C. seniors in care, it’s been nearly a year of isolation to combat COVID-19 outbreaks

COVID-19 isn’t ‘blowing in through the window,’ so how does B.C. put a stop to care home outbreaks?

Cottonwoods Care Centre residents in Kelowna celebrate receiving their COVID-19 vaccinations. Photo: Interior Health
FILE – An RCMP officer wears a face mask while on duty at a COVID-19 testing facility in Burnaby, B.C., on Thursday, August 13, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

12% of COVID-19 rule breakers in B.C. have paid their fines

There were a total of 294 provincial tickets and 83 federal ones on file as of Jan. 30

FILE – An RCMP officer wears a face mask while on duty at a COVID-19 testing facility in Burnaby, B.C., on Thursday, August 13, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A ditch marks the Canada-U.S. border and separates people walking on the road, right, in Surrey, British Columbia, and those gathered at Peace Arch Historical State Park, left, in Blaine, Wash., Sunday, July 5, 2020. Although the B.C. government closed the Canadian side of the park in June due to concerns about crowding and COVID-19, people are still able to meet in the U.S. park due to a treaty signed in 1814 that allows citizens of Canada and the U.S. to unite in the park without technically crossing any border. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

B.C. premier says calling for closure of Peace Arch State Park a federal responsibility

Horgan said he would ‘take action’ if Canada-U.S. border park is flagged as problem by PHO

A ditch marks the Canada-U.S. border and separates people walking on the road, right, in Surrey, British Columbia, and those gathered at Peace Arch Historical State Park, left, in Blaine, Wash., Sunday, July 5, 2020. Although the B.C. government closed the Canadian side of the park in June due to concerns about crowding and COVID-19, people are still able to meet in the U.S. park due to a treaty signed in 1814 that allows citizens of Canada and the U.S. to unite in the park without technically crossing any border. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
A vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the Louisa Jordan Hospital in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday Dec. 8, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-POOL, Jeff J Mitchell

B.C. sees 469 new COVID-19 cases, six deaths Wednesday

Province provides list of safe Family Day events

A vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the Louisa Jordan Hospital in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday Dec. 8, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-POOL, Jeff J Mitchell
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India on February 23, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

India will ‘do its best’ to get COVID-19 vaccines to Canada, says PM Narendra Modi

Canada is not among 25 countries cleared by Indian government to receive doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India on February 23, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
B.C. Premier John Horgan prepares to speak at news conference at the B.C. legislature, Jan. 27, 2021. (B.C. government)

Vaccines coming, B.C. seniors need to be ready, Horgan says

COVID-19 plan prioritizes age 80 and up in the community

B.C. Premier John Horgan prepares to speak at news conference at the B.C. legislature, Jan. 27, 2021. (B.C. government)
Florist Laura Logan prepares Valentines flowers at Acanthus Floral & Botanical in Almonte, Ont., on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Valentine’s Day roses in short supply due to COVID-19: floral industry

Several florists have urged customers to plan ahead and keep an open mind

Florist Laura Logan prepares Valentines flowers at Acanthus Floral & Botanical in Almonte, Ont., on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
A COVID-19 vaccine is administered in Toronto on Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Clinical trials start for Canadian COVID-19 vaccine candidate

Dubbed COVAC-2, the vaccine hopeful was developed by the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization

A COVID-19 vaccine is administered in Toronto on Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021 file photo, a state legislator adjusts her face masks while asking a question at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss. A government study released on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, finds that wearing two masks can better than one, in protecting against coronavirus infection. But health officials are stopping short of recommending that everyone double-up. “The first challenge is to get as many as people as possible masking. And then for those that do mask, to help them get the best benefit out of that mask,” said Dr. John Brooks of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

U.S. CDC study finds two masks are better than one vs. COVID-19

When both exhaling and inhaling heads were double-masked, more than 95% of the particles were blocked

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021 file photo, a state legislator adjusts her face masks while asking a question at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss. A government study released on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, finds that wearing two masks can better than one, in protecting against coronavirus infection. But health officials are stopping short of recommending that everyone double-up. “The first challenge is to get as many as people as possible masking. And then for those that do mask, to help them get the best benefit out of that mask,” said Dr. John Brooks of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
(Black Press Media file photo)

Patron bit, staff member punched during mask altercation at Victoria restaurant

Witnesses say man lashed out after being asked to wear a mask

(Black Press Media file photo)
(Phil McLachlan - Capital News)

Kelowna officials warn against anti-COVID protests ahead of planned ‘mega rally’

Those protesting COVID-19 restrictions and measures in Kelowna have received a message from the city’s leaders

(Phil McLachlan - Capital News)
South Surrey resident John Kageorge describes this small tent city that sprang up on the U.S. side of Peace Arch Park last summer as a ‘typical weekend.’ RCMP confirm they have stepped up enforcement along the portion of the international boundary where Canadians have been free to come and go across a narrow ditch while the border remains closed to non-essential travel. (John Kageorge file photo)

B.C. MLAs call on premier to ask U.S. to shut down Peace Arch Park

More than 75 tents pitched at park over weekend

South Surrey resident John Kageorge describes this small tent city that sprang up on the U.S. side of Peace Arch Park last summer as a ‘typical weekend.’ RCMP confirm they have stepped up enforcement along the portion of the international boundary where Canadians have been free to come and go across a narrow ditch while the border remains closed to non-essential travel. (John Kageorge file photo)
Health Minister Adrian Dix at a news conference in the rotunda at legislature in Victoria on Wednesday May 6, 2020. The head of a health authority in British Columbia has stepped down following allegations related to misspending on various items including $7 million for respirators that didn’t meet provincial standards. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

CEO of B.C. health authority leaves organization after report into alleged misspending

Some of the respirators were deemed ‘counterfeit’

Health Minister Adrian Dix at a news conference in the rotunda at legislature in Victoria on Wednesday May 6, 2020. The head of a health authority in British Columbia has stepped down following allegations related to misspending on various items including $7 million for respirators that didn’t meet provincial standards. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
A vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is shown at a UHN COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Toronto on Thursday, January 7, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Threat from variants means provinces must be ready to lock down again quickly: Tam

The number of cases linked to any of the variants doubled in the last week

A vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is shown at a UHN COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Toronto on Thursday, January 7, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Langley RCMP have issued at least two tickets to the Riverside Calvary Chapel in Langley for continuing to hold services despite public health orders. (Langley Advance Times file)

Injunction sought against Fraser Valley churches defying B.C. health orders

Churches in Langley and Chilliwack have continued to hold services.

Langley RCMP have issued at least two tickets to the Riverside Calvary Chapel in Langley for continuing to hold services despite public health orders. (Langley Advance Times file)
A health care worker is seen wearing a mask outside St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, B.C., Dec. 2, 2020. B.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Marissa Tiel

B.C.’s COVID-19 infection rate steady, 435 cases Tuesday

Four deaths since Monday, no new health care outbreaks

A health care worker is seen wearing a mask outside St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, B.C., Dec. 2, 2020. B.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Marissa Tiel
In Vancouver’s second anti-mask dispute in just four days, a man allegedly spat in the face of a store employee after refusing to wear a mask on Monday (Feb. 8). (Pixabay image)

Man allegedly spits in store employee’s face after refusing to wear mask: Vancouver police

This is the city’s second anti-mask dispute this week

In Vancouver’s second anti-mask dispute in just four days, a man allegedly spat in the face of a store employee after refusing to wear a mask on Monday (Feb. 8). (Pixabay image)
Dr. Jordan Feld, a liver specialist at UHN’s Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, poses in this recent handout photo. More than a year after COVID-19 emerged, few therapies exist and many that do are expensive, cumbersome and unproven, say experts who blame disjointed data, funding and communication as factors derailing efforts to tamp down disease. While warp speed efforts to develop vaccines have produced several promising options in mere months, there’s been comparatively little push for treatment tools to cut severe cases and deaths that are crippling health-care systems, says COVID-19 researcher Dr. Feld. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - University Health Network

Experts say race for COVID drugs dogged by false promises, lack of co-ordination

Urgency for effective drugs has only become more intense amid Canada’s vaccine deployment debacle

Dr. Jordan Feld, a liver specialist at UHN’s Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, poses in this recent handout photo. More than a year after COVID-19 emerged, few therapies exist and many that do are expensive, cumbersome and unproven, say experts who blame disjointed data, funding and communication as factors derailing efforts to tamp down disease. While warp speed efforts to develop vaccines have produced several promising options in mere months, there’s been comparatively little push for treatment tools to cut severe cases and deaths that are crippling health-care systems, says COVID-19 researcher Dr. Feld. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - University Health Network
Peter Ben Embarek, of the World Health Organization team holds up a chart showing pathways of transmission of the virus during a joint press conference held at the end of the WHO mission in Wuhan, China, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

WHO says COVID-19 unlikely to have leaked from lab in China

The coronavirus most likely first appeared in humans after jumping from an animal

Peter Ben Embarek, of the World Health Organization team holds up a chart showing pathways of transmission of the virus during a joint press conference held at the end of the WHO mission in Wuhan, China, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)