The first COVID-19 related death in Canada has been recorded in B.C.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said a male resident of the Lynn Valley Care Centre passed away late Sunday. She said the man was in his 80s and had pre-existing heath issues.
The North Vancouver facility had been identified as a COVID-19 hotspot three days ago.
“This is obviously a very sad day for all of us, but especially for the family and loved ones of the man who passed away at the Lynn Valley care home,” said B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix.
Dr. Bonnie Henry discusses ‘what is going on’ at the Lynn Valley Care Centre:
A male resident of the Lynn Valley Care Centre in North Vancouver has become the first person to die of COVID-19 in Canada. 1:25
Henry said a female resident of the home in her 70s has also tested positive for the virus and is in stable condition.
Officials from Vancouver Coastal Health have been on site at the Lynn Valley Care Centre since since a health-care worker at the home, a woman in her 50s identified as “Case 21,” was first diagnosed with the virus last week.
Henry said Case 21 is not believed to have brought the virus into the home.
A second health-care worker at the home has also tested positive.
Henry says it is believed the two care workers and two elderly residents contracted the virus from an unidentified party.
“Very likely both the residents and both the care workers were infected from someone else within that setting,” she said.
Henry said one of the Lynn Valley care workers also works in two other homes.
“That is part of the ongoing investigation at the Lynn Valley care home,” she said, “to find out where else the workers have worked.”
Two close contacts of Case 21 have also tested positive — a male teen and man in his 50s. They live in the Fraser Health region and are in home isolation in stable condition.
32 confirmed cases in B.C.
In total, five new cases of the viral infection have been confirmed in B.C., bringing the provincial total to 32.
Henry said two new cases were imported from outside the country. One is a female in her 50s who recently returned from Iran. The second is a man in his 30s who travelled from Italy. Both are in isolation at home.
Iran and Italy are both struggling with large COVID-19 outbreaks.
According to Henry, four people who contracted COVID-19 earlier have fully recovered. A woman in her 80s remains in the intensive care unit at Vancouver Hospital in stable condition.
On the weekend, Dix urged British Columbians to avoid travelling on cruise ships, a message that was reinforced earlier Monday by Canada’s chief public health officer Theresa Tam.
“I’ve asked Canadians to think twice about being on cruise ships. Today, the Public Health Agency of Canada is recommending that Canadians avoid all cruise ship travel due to COVID-19,” Tam said.
“The risk to the general population remains low, but this could change rapidly. We are most concerned for Canada’s vulnerable populations.”
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
