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COVID-19 outbreak hits second ward at Lions Gate Hospital

An outbreak of COVID-19 at Lions Gate Hospital is continuing in a second ward of the hospital while a different ward where cases were first reported has been taken off the active outbreak list. Either staff or patients have now tested positive for COVID-19 on the seventh floor of the hospital, which includes a neurological care unit dealing with brain illnesses and injuries.…

Applications for student pandemic assistance to open Friday

Benefits range from $1,250 to $2,000 a month

Students facing little hope of landing a summer job during the pandemic will be able to apply for federal assistance beginning Friday (May 15). Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled the $9-billion Canada Emergency Student Benefit in late April, but it was not clear at the time when students would be able to tap into it.…

Avoid non-essential travel this May long, Whistler docs say

Whistler parks, Whistler Blackcomb still closed

With the May long weekend right around the corner, Whistler doctors are reminding the public that B.C. is still in Phase 1 of its four-phase plan to reopen the province. “Which means that hopefully people are avoiding all non-essential travel,” said Dr. Karin Kausky of the Whistler Medical Clinic.…

B.C. says no special treatment for movie stars, hockey players or cruise ships

VICTORIA — British Columbia is moving towards easing COVID-19 restrictions, but movie stars, hockey players and cruise line operators won’t be getting special passes around the province’s self isolation and port access rules, says provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry. Henry said Tuesday she misses watching hockey games, but if the National Hockey League chooses Vancouver as one of its sites to reopen the season, players and team officials arriving from outside Canada must self-isolate for 14 days.…

Better Business Bureau warns online puppy scams surging during COVID-19 pandemic

VANCOUVER — The Better Business Bureau says puppy scams are the latest way fraudsters are taking advantage of lonely, isolated people during the COVID-19 pandemic. A statement from the Better Business Bureau serving Mainland British Columbia says online puppy scams have spiked since the pandemic reached North America.…

Pandemic throws wrench into tree planting season

2020 was shaping up to be the biggest season on record in B.C. for the sector

First, B.C.’s Interior forests were ravaged by beetles and forest fires, and now their recovery may be delayed by a virus. This year’s tree planting season in B.C. was expected to be the biggest planting effort ever, thanks to provincial and federal funding.…

Province’s vacation communities await return of tourists

Tofino entrepreneur remains optimistic that small-business economy will survive

British Columbia’s economy is reliant on small businesses and nowhere is this more evident than in the small vacation communities that dot the province like the District of Tofino. “COVID-19 is another example that we do live in a fairly mono-economy, end-of-the-road town [in Tofino],” said Keith Phillips, president and founder of West Coast Aquatic Safaris.…

North Shore Rescue deploys e-bikes for faster response

North Shore Rescue volunteers are now quite literally riding to the rescue. The team has made their first successful rescue using their new fleet of electronic bicycles, which they say will allow them to reach their bases and lost hikers faster than they could before.…

Serial killer Robert Pickton evidence destruction application on hold

Evidence included hypodermic needles, sex toys, rosary beads, knives, a gun and ammunition

An RCMP application to destroy evidence from serial killer Robert Pickton’s trial set for May 15 has been cancelled by B.C. Supreme Court. RCMP spokeswoman Janelle Shoihet said the cancellation was due to the COVID-19 situation.…

B.C.’s road to recovery: K-12 schools to plan for full operations in September

B.C. has published guidelines for school operations but no timeline

No regular in-class instruction is expected at kindergarten to Grade 12 (K-12) schools until “well after” the Victoria Day long weekend. In his update last week on how his government plans to restart B.C.’s economy, Premier John Horgan said schools are expected to begin planning for full operations in September.…

Canadian singer Bryan Adams faces backlash over COVID-19 social media posts

Adams says he just wanted to rant about ‘animal cruelty in the wet-markets’

Canadian rocker Bryan Adams apologized Tuesday for a social media post on the novel coronavirus that some critics called racist. In a post Monday night on Twitter and Instagram, Adams blamed the global pandemic on “(expletive) bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards.”…

Eligible seniors to get up to $500 each from feds

New support will come through OAS and GIS

The federal government is promising additional support for seniors amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Ottawa pledged Tuesday (May 12) to give a one-time, tax-free payment of $300 to eligible seniors through the Old Age Security (OAS) pension.…

B.C.’s road to recovery: Libraries set for phased return to lending

Curbside pickup, digital options and a slow return to reopening buildings

The reopening or re-imagining of B.C.’s libraries in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic could take up to two years, but immediate access to services will be phased in with some tweaks to how services have normally been provided. The primary aim in all of the plans, which have no set dates, is to ensure patrons and staff are safe, Association of British Columbia Public Library Directors chairman Scott Hargrove said.…

‘Nurses are everyday heroes,’ says Trudeau

This week especially, get outside at 7 p.m. and make some noise to support those fighting COVID-19

In a statement released on Monday, May 11, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the country’s nurses “everyday heroes” as they fight and serve on the front lines against COVID-19. “During this difficult time, when we must stay apart to be safe, nurses are playing a dual role: delivering critical health care while providing a bridge to our loves ones,” said Trudeau.…

Wet’suwet’en elected chiefs call on Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister to resign

Process to reach Memorandum of Understanding ‘unacceptable’

The elected leadership of several First Nations split over a natural gas pipeline in northern British Columbia are calling for the immediate resignation of Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett. In a statement released Monday, four elected Wet’suwet’en chiefs say the process by which the province, the federal government and the nation’s hereditary leaders arrived at a proposed memorandum of understanding on Wet’suwet’en rights and title is unacceptable.…