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.
The British Columbia government is stepping up penalties for truckers who crash into highway overpasses after a rash of such incidents in recent years. Transportation Minister Rob Fleming says the province will implement escalating penalties for companies and drivers with repeat offences, adding longer suspensions and the possible loss of their operating certificate.
More than 50 poultry farms in British Columbia have been infected with avian flu since October, but animal health officials say that rate is slowing as the fall migration of wild birds ends. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Thursday 47 commercial farms and five small-flocks have been infected with the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus this fall.
British Columbia's Coroners Service says there's been a sharp increase in deaths among people experiencing homelessness. A statement from the coroners service says the deaths of 342 people experiencing homelessness were reported last year, an increase of almost 140 over the past two years.
Coquitlam R-C-M-P say they are looking for a man who stole a Salvation Army donation kettle from a local mall. Police say the theft happened on December 3rd at Coquitlam Centre Mall's southeast entrance facing Pinetree Way.
British Columbia's provincial government says it is going ahead with the construction of a $638-million "state-of-the-art" research centre at the new St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver. Premier David Eby said at a news conference after touring the construction progress at the new hospital that the province has approved the business plan and funding for the new research facility.
Mounties say the cases of porch piracy involved drivers making deliveries for the online retailer Amazon between September and late November. Police say the company proactively identified the possible thefts and notified RCMP in Burnaby, B.C., prompting officers to search the suspects' homes, where they found as many as 32 stolen packages at one location. The stolen items ranged from a $35 Apple AirTag tracking device to a men's watch valued at more than $600.