National

COVID-19 down, influenza and RSV up in B.C, says CDC

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 17 Nov, 2023 11:43 AM

New data suggest that COVID-19 activity in British Columbia is trending downward, while influenza and RSV are on the rise.

A weekly update provided Thursday by the BC Centre for Disease Control says COVID-19 cases, new hospitalizations and deaths are all declining from a peak in the first week of October.

It says there were 25 deaths of patients with COVID last week, down from 70 three weeks earlier.

But the number of people in hospital with COVID-19, including new and previous admissions, has risen to 263 as of Thursday.

The CDC says Influenza A is behind a rise in flu activity, accounting for 96 per cent of tested cases this season, while positive test rates for respiratory syncytial virus are also up, particularly among children.

However, it says emergency department visits due to all respiratory diseases remain comparable to or below historical averages.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

B.C. pair accused of neglect in death of North Okanagan youngster in 2020

Two North Okanagan residents have been ordered to appear in a Vernon, B.C., courtroom in January as they face charges of neglect that led to the death of a child nearly four years ago. RCMP Cpl. James Grandy says police were called to the Lumby area east of Vernon on April 4, 2020, after paramedics located a critically ill boy.

B.C. pair accused of neglect in death of North Okanagan youngster in 2020

2 men shot outside South Vancouver nightclub

Police say they're investigating after two men were shot at outside Gallery nightclub in south Vancouver early Sunday morning. They say officers responded to reports of gunfire and found a 44-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his arm, while the other man wasn't injured.

2 men shot outside South Vancouver nightclub

Body found in a Kelowna park

R-C-M-P in Kelowna say a man's body has been found in a park on the city's north side. A statement from the detachment says the body was found this morning in Sutherland Bay Park and it appears the victim may have been there through the night.

Body found in a Kelowna park

Deadly crash in Kitsilano

Vancouver police hope witnesses will have information or dashcam video that could assist the investigation of a deadly crash in the city's Kitsilano neighbourhood. Police say a 53-year-old pedestrian died last Wednesday -- almost a week after she was hit when two cars collided (at the intersection of 4th Avenue and Balsam Street) and slid onto the sidewalk where she and a second pedestrian were standing.

Deadly crash in Kitsilano

B.C. man pleads guilty to second-degree murder of Ashley Simpson in 2016

A 21-day murder trial that was supposed to begin Monday in British Columbia Supreme Court in Salmon Arm ended almost immediately as Derek Favell entered a guilty plea. The Shuswap-area resident, who is in his early 40s, was charged with the 2016 slaying of his former girlfriend Ashley Simpson.

B.C. man pleads guilty to second-degree murder of Ashley Simpson in 2016

BC United promises carbon tax relief if elected government next year, says Falcon

British Columbia's Opposition leader is promising to immediately cut the provincial carbon tax on all fuels and stop planned future increases if elected to form government next year. BC United Leader Kevin Falcon says his party would give motorists a break by eliminating the provincial fuel tax, currently at about 15 cents per litre on gasoline and diesel, and remove the carbon tax on all home-heating fuels.