B-C provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry is scheduled to provide an update this afternoon on the province's respiratory illness season.
It's Henry's first update of 2024 and she'll be joined by Health Minister Adrian Dix.
The most recent information from the province's centre for disease control says that in late December Influenza A and R-S-V cases were on the rise.
The centre said at the time that COVID-19 numbers were remaining stable or decreasing since early November.
Competition with the B.C. Conservatives, who have two seats in the legislature and are riding high in opinion polls, and the name change to BC United from the BC Liberal Party, will not be major deciding factors in the October 2024 campaign, Falcon said. Vote splitting on the political right has always been an issue in B.C. elections, but the potential threat to BC United from the provincial Conservatives will fizzle when voters realize they are not Pierre Poilievre's federal Conservatives, said Falcon.
There's a bit of extra incentive to put away your vehicle keys if you are going out on New Year's Eve in Metro Vancouver. TransLink will again offer free transit across its network in the area.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says people in the Gaza Strip who have Canadian relatives will now be able to apply for temporary visas to Canada, but the federal government cannot guarantee them safe passage out of the besieged Palestinian territory. He expects the program to be up and running by Jan. 9.
A prop for a teacher’s presentation at a Vancouver secondary school set off a lockdown and an emergency response by police on Thursday. Police say a teacher at Lord Byng Secondary called 911 to report a man carrying a rifle into the school, and the emergency response team was dispatched and the school locked down while police searched for a suspect.
Environment Canada has issued two weather warnings relating to heavy rain or snow for northwestern B-C. The agency says the Kitimat region is expected to receive up to 70 millimetres of rain which could set off flash floods and leave pooling water on the roads.
Police in B-C continue to target retail theft this holiday season, with Surrey R-C-M-P announcing multiple arrests during a one-day operation. Police say officers at Guildford Town Centre Mall arrested 15 people this week and recovered about four thousand dollars worth of stolen goods, including liquor, clothing and cosmetics.