COVID-19

A row of ambulances is seen outside a hospital in Montreal, on Monday, January 10, 2022. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ottawa will do all it can to help provinces and territories cope with the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, as infections fuelled by the Omicron variant threaten to overwhelm health systems. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Trudeau says Canada will have enough COVID-19 vaccines as US issues travel advisory

Provinces and territories will receive a combined 140 million rapid tests this month

A row of ambulances is seen outside a hospital in Montreal, on Monday, January 10, 2022. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ottawa will do all it can to help provinces and territories cope with the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, as infections fuelled by the Omicron variant threaten to overwhelm health systems. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Paramedics transfer a person from an ambulance into a hospital in Montreal, Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022. The Health Department says data from the last 24 hours indicates a 140-jump in hospitalization from the previous day, for a total of 2,436. The province is also reporting 11,007 new cases of COVID-19. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

COVID hospitalizations nearing or reaching record highs in several provinces

Many provinces imposed a weeklong delay in the return to in-person schooling

Paramedics transfer a person from an ambulance into a hospital in Montreal, Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022. The Health Department says data from the last 24 hours indicates a 140-jump in hospitalization from the previous day, for a total of 2,436. The province is also reporting 11,007 new cases of COVID-19. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
Skiers on the Boomerang Chair at Fernie Alpine Resort. (Scott Tibballs / The Free Press)

High elevation, high numbers: B.C. resort towns report COVID spikes

Resort communities are at more risk, according to Dr. Karin Goodison of Interior Health

Skiers on the Boomerang Chair at Fernie Alpine Resort. (Scott Tibballs / The Free Press)
Signs say ‘Mental Health Matters,’ ‘Gyms are Essential,’ and ‘#FreeBC’ (Iron Energy Gym Instagram)

West Kelowna gym ordered to close and fined $2,300 for disobeying COVID restrictions

Interior Health was escorted by RCMP at Iron Energy Gym

Signs say ‘Mental Health Matters,’ ‘Gyms are Essential,’ and ‘#FreeBC’ (Iron Energy Gym Instagram)
Campbell River resident Maryanne Andrew is raising awareness of long COVID and the impact it has on people’s lives. Photo contributed

In for the long haul: B.C. woman says help available for post-COVID-19 sufferers

Medical advice, self-care and time to heal all key to the recovery process

Campbell River resident Maryanne Andrew is raising awareness of long COVID and the impact it has on people’s lives. Photo contributed
A bag of blood is shown at a clinic in Montreal on November 29, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Blood tests show waning immunity that scientists hope Omicron could counter

Canadian task force analyzing extent of immunity offered by Omicron

A bag of blood is shown at a clinic in Montreal on November 29, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
(File Photo)

33 inmates, 18 employees infected in COVID outbreak at Kent Institution

All employees, inmates equipped with masks, CSC says

(File Photo)
Penticton-based poet Shane Koyczan released his poem Tomorrow on YouTube speaking a message of hope for what 2022 could bring. (Shane Koyczan photo)

Famed Penticton poet Shane Koyczan offers a dose of hope for 2022

Shane Koyczan releases ‘Tomorrow’ on Youtube where we should ‘stockpile hope like toilet paper’

Penticton-based poet Shane Koyczan released his poem Tomorrow on YouTube speaking a message of hope for what 2022 could bring. (Shane Koyczan photo)
Namaskar Yoga Studio was forced again to shut its doors again due to a provincial health order to close all studios and fitness centres as of Dec. 23. (Namaskar Yoga Studio photo)

COVID-19: Island gym users and owners unhappy with latest round of regulations

‘Not fair and it’s not right’

Namaskar Yoga Studio was forced again to shut its doors again due to a provincial health order to close all studios and fitness centres as of Dec. 23. (Namaskar Yoga Studio photo)
After a two-day hiatus, Pacific Coastal Airlines flights will resume on Jan. 4. (File photo)

Pacific Coastal Airlines temporarily suspends operations amid Omicron outbreak

Flights are set to resume Jan. 4

After a two-day hiatus, Pacific Coastal Airlines flights will resume on Jan. 4. (File photo)
(Manning Park Resort photo)

Manning Park Resort workers report at least 20 cases of COVID-19 among staff

But management says protocols are being followed and sick employees are taken out of workforce

(Manning Park Resort photo)

B.C. gym forced to close due to B.C. COVID mandate calls for essential service status

Gyms, fitness centres and bars were recently ordered to close under new Omicron-related measures

Kelowna Courthouse. (Phil McLachlan-Capital News/FILE)

Prominent Kelowna anti-lockdown protester faces assault charges

David Lindsay faces two counts of assault related to an incident on August 19

Kelowna Courthouse. (Phil McLachlan-Capital News/FILE)
The BC School COVID Tracker website and Facebook page have nearly 60,000 followers, and has become a ‘go-to’ source for the latest information on COVID exposures within the BC School system. (Aman Parhar/Omineca Express)

B.C. COVID school tracker website continues to grow

Website authenticates all information before adding to database

The BC School COVID Tracker website and Facebook page have nearly 60,000 followers, and has become a ‘go-to’ source for the latest information on COVID exposures within the BC School system. (Aman Parhar/Omineca Express)
Robbie Thompson, pictured at the Canadian Transplant Games, has made a documentary that considers how COVID is affecting medically vulnerable people. Photo supplied

Vancouver Island filmmaker shares pandemic life stories of the immunocompromised

Courtenay double heart-transplant survivor shows how COVID affects the medically vulnerable

Robbie Thompson, pictured at the Canadian Transplant Games, has made a documentary that considers how COVID is affecting medically vulnerable people. Photo supplied
North Island NDP MLA Michele Babchuk. (Photo supplied)

Taking political attacks home part of ‘dangerous trend’ says Vancouver Island MLA

Protests part of the job, but Michele Babchuk says her family did not sign up for that job

North Island NDP MLA Michele Babchuk. (Photo supplied)
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, here receiving a seasonal flu vaccination, says the high vaccination rate at UVic is helping prevent serious illness despite a spike in COVID-19 cases associated with the school. (Courtesy Province of B.C.)

High vaccination rate helped mitigate B.C. university COVID-19 spike: Dr. Henry

Case uptick hasn’t translated into severe illness in University of Victoria community, Henry says

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, here receiving a seasonal flu vaccination, says the high vaccination rate at UVic is helping prevent serious illness despite a spike in COVID-19 cases associated with the school. (Courtesy Province of B.C.)
Matthew Zeleny, applied research technologist, and Kai Anderson, grant worker, from Camosun Innovates, worked on the design, manufacturing and production of colour-coded trays for vials containing Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses for children aged 5 to 11. (Photo Courtesy of Camosun College)

Camosun College tray system differentiates kid and adult COVID vaccines

The laser-cut trays are intended to make it easier to distinguish different COVID-19 vaccine doses

Matthew Zeleny, applied research technologist, and Kai Anderson, grant worker, from Camosun Innovates, worked on the design, manufacturing and production of colour-coded trays for vials containing Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses for children aged 5 to 11. (Photo Courtesy of Camosun College)
Small businesses in B.C. such as along Bernard Avenue in Kelowna's downtown core will continue to face challenging fiscal times in 2022. (File photo)

Grim 2022 outlook for B.C.’s small business sector

Business sector report calls for more government fiscal help

Small businesses in B.C. such as along Bernard Avenue in Kelowna's downtown core will continue to face challenging fiscal times in 2022. (File photo)
A house on the corner of Queensway Dr. and Mark Ave. south of Terrace on Dec. 17, 2021. Dr. Raina Fumerton, Northern Health chief medical officer for the northwest, said that anti-government attitudes could be a factor in stalling COVID-19 vaccination rates in the health authority. (Ben Bogstie/Terrace Standard)

COVID vaccination rates stall out in northern B.C.

Hesitancy, mistrust are among factors at play

A house on the corner of Queensway Dr. and Mark Ave. south of Terrace on Dec. 17, 2021. Dr. Raina Fumerton, Northern Health chief medical officer for the northwest, said that anti-government attitudes could be a factor in stalling COVID-19 vaccination rates in the health authority. (Ben Bogstie/Terrace Standard)