COVID-19

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, in Edmonton on Wednesday Nov. 17, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Kenney set to announce end date of Alberta’s COVID-19 vaccine passport next week

Alberta also to unveil a plan that will see it remove almost all restrictions by month’s end

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, in Edmonton on Wednesday Nov. 17, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver. (File photo: Black Press Media)

B.C. woman sues Ducks Unlimited after being fired over COVID-19 vaccine policy

On Oct. 1, she raised her concerns about the policy and on Oct. 14 she was fired for failing to comply

B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver. (File photo: Black Press Media)
Vehicles drove through downtown Victoria on their way to the B.C. Legislature Saturday afternoon for a demonstration against pandemic-related mandates in front of the B.C. Legislature. (Justin Samanski-Langille/News Staff)

Thousands gather at B.C. Legislature against pandemic mandates

Saturday’s event was co-organized by We Unite Canada and the Victoria BC Convoy for Freedom

Vehicles drove through downtown Victoria on their way to the B.C. Legislature Saturday afternoon for a demonstration against pandemic-related mandates in front of the B.C. Legislature. (Justin Samanski-Langille/News Staff)
Late 2021 saw the number of restaurant reservations and take-out orders in B.C. soar like there’d never been a pandemic. (Black Press Media file photo)

British Columbians were back to restaurants in pre-pandemic numbers in late 2021

Survey finds Labour Day weekend busier than 2019, giving operators optimism for 2022

Late 2021 saw the number of restaurant reservations and take-out orders in B.C. soar like there’d never been a pandemic. (Black Press Media file photo)
Laura McIntyre and her three kids are once again facing homelessness after their recently crowdfunded new trailer suffered a fire, and she contracted COVID-19. (Photo Courtesy of Laura McIntyre) (Photo Courtesy of Laura McIntyre)

Vancouver Island single mom facing homelessness again after trailer fire

Laura McIntyre also tested positive for COVID the day before the fire claims fundraised trailer

Laura McIntyre and her three kids are once again facing homelessness after their recently crowdfunded new trailer suffered a fire, and she contracted COVID-19. (Photo Courtesy of Laura McIntyre) (Photo Courtesy of Laura McIntyre)
In this Tuesday, June 12, 2018, photo, trucks cross the Ambassador Bridge from Windsor, Ont. into Detroit. Turmoil and confusion last week over whether truckers would remain exempt from the COVID-19 vaccine mandate followed misinterpretations of regulations by both the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Paul Sancya

Public Health Agency of Canada involved in ‘error’ on trucker vaccine rules: sources

Government provided no more explanation for the botched messaging

In this Tuesday, June 12, 2018, photo, trucks cross the Ambassador Bridge from Windsor, Ont. into Detroit. Turmoil and confusion last week over whether truckers would remain exempt from the COVID-19 vaccine mandate followed misinterpretations of regulations by both the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Paul Sancya
(The Canadian Press/Tijana Martin)

Patients with COVID in Fraser Health may now share hospital rooms with uninfected

Public health officials say hospital space is at a premium

(The Canadian Press/Tijana Martin)
North Island Secondary School in Port McNeill. (Gazette file photo)

Northern Vancouver Island high school announces ‘functional closure’

‘This closure is due to the shortage of staff and the inability to cover these staff shortages’

North Island Secondary School in Port McNeill. (Gazette file photo)
Michele Matteazzi with his wife Tiffany and their kids. (Submitted photo)

Unvaccinated B.C. man forced to quarantine after 10-minute chat with U.S. border agents

Michele Matteazzi visited Abbotsford-Huntingdon border to have travel questions answered

Michele Matteazzi with his wife Tiffany and their kids. (Submitted photo)
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we grieve. (File photo)

Hay: We can’t let the pandemic put grief on hold

‘I have learned the difference between fear and hope is focus’

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we grieve. (File photo)
(File Photo)

Kent Institution outbreak grows to more than 60 COVID-19 cases

41 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent outbreak

(File Photo)
A woman tries to speak to her mother, through a window at Orchard Villa Care home, in Pickering, Ont. on Saturday, April 25, 2020. The expert spearheading new draft national standards for long-term care says they must strike a balance between residents’ safety and their quality of life. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

New Canadian care home standards to emphasize fact that they are homes, not wards

Consultations showed pandemic policies hurt mental and social well-being, balance called for

A woman tries to speak to her mother, through a window at Orchard Villa Care home, in Pickering, Ont. on Saturday, April 25, 2020. The expert spearheading new draft national standards for long-term care says they must strike a balance between residents’ safety and their quality of life. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
FILE - A chef cooks Chinese food on a rainy fall day as the restaurant is open for curb-side pickup during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Monday, November 30, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Slim majority support government lockdowns, restrictions in response to Omicron

Growing number of Canadians are unhappy with how their governments are handling pandemic

FILE - A chef cooks Chinese food on a rainy fall day as the restaurant is open for curb-side pickup during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Monday, November 30, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
People walk by a sign at a restaurant advising customers of Quebec’s COVID-19 vaccine passport in Montreal, Monday, Sept. 6, 2021. Quebec is considering expanding its vaccine passport system further, a move that some health and ethics experts say is justified because of the high number of COVID-19 patients in the province’s hospitals. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Tightening rules for unvaccinated is justified as health system struggles: experts

Others: people rejecting COVID-19 vaccines out of ideology won’t be swayed by restrictions

People walk by a sign at a restaurant advising customers of Quebec’s COVID-19 vaccine passport in Montreal, Monday, Sept. 6, 2021. Quebec is considering expanding its vaccine passport system further, a move that some health and ethics experts say is justified because of the high number of COVID-19 patients in the province’s hospitals. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
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)
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)