Island Health confirms 1 more COVID-19 death, more than 100 hospitalized
B.C. health officials say 13 new COVID-19-related deaths were confirmed across the province Thursday, including one in Island Health.
The update brings B.C.'s pandemic death toll to 2,588, including 168 in Island Health.
There are currently 101 people in hospital for treatment of COVID-19 on Vancouver Island, up from 87 reported Wednesday, and up from 56 recorded one week ago on Jan. 20.
Eleven patients are receiving critical care Thursday, an increase from the 10 confirmed yesterday and seven reported on Jan. 20.
Roughly one month ago, on Dec. 24, 40 people were in hospital for treatment of COVID-19 on Vancouver Island, including 17 patients in intensive care.
NEW CASES
Another 266 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the Vancouver Island region Thursday.
The new cases were among 2,033 cases confirmed across the province over the past 24 hours.
With testing capacity at its limits, confirmed cases are only a fraction of B.C.'s total number of COVID-19 cases. Still, health officials say the test results are an indicator of transmission rates in the province.
There are currently 29,556 confirmed active cases of COVID-19 in B.C., including 1,768 active cases in the island region.
VACCINATIONS
As of Thursday, approximately 89.7 per cent of eligible British Columbians aged five and older have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 83.7 per cent have received two doses.
Meanwhile, approximately 43 per cent of eligible B.C. residents aged 12 and older have received three doses of vaccine.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Lifeline for woman with disabilities approved for medically assisted death after 'mind-blowing, inspiring' support
A 31-year-old disabled Toronto woman who was conditionally approved for a medically assisted death after a fruitless bid for safe housing says her life has been 'changed' by an outpouring of support after telling her story.
School police chief receives blame in Texas shooting response
The police official blamed for not sending officers in more quickly to stop the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting is the chief of the school system's small police force, a unit dedicated ordinarily to building relationships with students and responding to the occasional fight.
Russia takes small cities, aims to widen east Ukraine battle
Russia asserted Saturday that its troops and separatist fighters had captured a key railway junction in eastern Ukraine, the second small city to fall to Moscow's forces this week as they fought to seize all of the country's contested Donbas region.
Truth tracker: Does the World Economic Forum influence governments like Canada's?
The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos was met with justifiable criticisms and unfounded conspiracy theories.
Calling social conservatives dinosaurs was 'wrong terminology', says Patrick Brown
Federal Conservative leadership candidate Patrick Brown says calling social conservatives 'dinosaurs' in a book he wrote about his time in Ontario politics was 'the wrong terminology.'
Fact check: NRA speakers distort gun and crime statistics
Speakers at the National Rifle Association annual meeting assailed a Chicago gun ban that doesn't exist, ignored security upgrades at the Texas school where children were slaughtered and roundly distorted national gun and crime statistics as they pushed back against any tightening of gun laws.
She smeared blood on herself and played dead: 11-year-old reveals chilling details of the massacre
An 11-year-old survivor of the Robb Elementary School massacre in Uvalde, Texas, feared the gunman would come back for her so she smeared herself in her friend's blood and played dead.
Quebec mosque shooter ruling could affect parole eligibility in other high-profile cases
The Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling allowing the Quebec City mosque shooter to be eligible for parole after 25 years is raising concern for more than a dozen similar cases.
Jury's duty in Depp-Heard trial doesn't track public debate
A seven-person civil jury in Virginia will resume deliberations Tuesday in Johnny Depp's libel trial against Amber Heard. What the jury considers will be very different from the public debate that has engulfed the high-profile proceedings.
Vancouver
-
After years waiting for surgery, B.C. woman considering medically assisted death
A B.C. mom with a rare, debilitating illness has spent years trying to get the help she needs. Now she's considering medical assistance in dying.
-
Interior, Island and North led B.C.'s decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations this week
The number of COVID-19 patients in B.C. hospitals hit its lowest point in more than a month this week, and the decline was driven largely by regions outside the Lower Mainland.
-
Small Vancouver startup believes it's created the solution to plastic pollution
Researchers working in partnership with UBC believe an eco-friendly material could help solve the world’s plastic pollution problem.
Edmonton
-
UCP accused of sending warning to Edmonton councillors as EPS funding decision delayed
A hotly-controversial decision on whether or not to freeze base funding for police in Edmonton was delayed Friday as fallout from a dispute between the mayor and the provincial justice minister continued to rattle political circles.
-
Shooting near Rogers Place playoff party witnessed by EPS officers
A 19-year-old man is in police custody after a shooting near Rogers Place after an Edmonton Oilers viewing party ended Thursday evening.
-
Wetaskiwin temporary shelter to close ahead of schedule leaving some in a lurch
A shelter many expected to remain open until the end of June in Wetaskiwin, Alta., will close a month early.
Toronto
-
WATCH
WATCH | New video appears to show man carrying air rifle on Toronto streets before being killed by police
A man shot dead by police officers near a Toronto elementary school on Thursday afternoon appears to have been captured on home security footage carrying an air rifle moments before the incident.
-
Police investigating suspected hate-motivated incident involving armed man at Jewish school
A 21-year-old Toronto man is facing a slew of charges following a suspected hate-motivated incident at a Jewish school in North York.
-
Here's why you may notice unusual activity around Toronto Pearson Airport this weekend
Toronto Pearson International is warning travellers and Mississauga residents they may notice unusual activity at the airport this weekend.
Calgary
-
'Grave injustice': SCC ruling could change sentence for Alberta's multiple murderers
A southern Alberta man who killed three people, including a two-year-old girl, could have the ability to request a release from jail earlier than his original sentence intended, thanks to a landmark Supreme Court decision Friday.
-
'No way we're cheering for the Oilers': Flames fans react to Game 5 loss
Calgary Flames fans are still coming to terms with a playoff series loss to the Edmonton Oilers Thursday night in a game that saw both controversy and heartbreak following a Connor McDavid overtime goal.
-
Canada's premiers want to reform health-care system, asks Ottawa to pick up the phone
Western Canada's premiers want to reform their health-care systems by expanding services but they say Ottawa first needs to pick up the phone.
Montreal
-
Three things most likely to be legally challenged in Bill 96
Is it unconstitutional to make someone pay to get a legal document translated into French? One of Montreal's top lawyers thinks so, and pointed out two other things from Bill 96 that he thinks the courts would most easily find fault with.
-
Good Samaritan pulls 83-year-old Montreal man from St. Lawrence: Police
A man in his 80s is fighting for his life after being pulled out of the St. Lawrence River by a fellow resident who saw his vehicle had become submerged.
-
Crews dislodge chemical-carrying ship in St. Lawrence Seaway
A large ship carrying chemical products ran aground during its passage through the St. Lawrence Seaway early Friday morning, backing up maritime traffic as tugboats tried to dislodge it.
Atlantic
-
Cape Breton teen in hospital after falling nearly 40 feet over cliff in Glace Bay
A Cape Breton father is warning the public of the dangers in the area he lives after his teenager son fell nearly 40 feet over a cliff in Glace Bay.
-
More than 18 hours to find five N.S. mass shooting victims was 'deficient': lawyer
A lawyer for families of victims killed in the Nova Scotia mass shooting says an 18-hour delay in finding five bodies of those murdered is a sign of "deficient" policing.
-
Supreme Court decision could affect Justin Bourque’s sentence: Lawyer
The lawyer who represented a man who murdered three RCMP officers nearly eight years ago in Moncton, N.B., said a decision made by the Supreme Court of Canada Friday may potentially change his sentence.
Winnipeg
-
Students at Winnipeg school find body during community cleanup: Pembina Trails School Division
Pembina Trails School Division is confirming to CTV News that a group of students found a body during community cleanup at Ècole South Pointe School.
-
47-year-old man killed in Dugald Road crash: Winnipeg police
Winnipeg police are telling people to find an alternate route this afternoon as they are investigating a fatal crash near the St. Boniface Industrial Park.
-
'It's one way to be creative': Winnipeg student wants to be a bartender when older; school doesn't like comment in yearbook
Bartender. That is what one Grade 4 student said for the yearbook when asked what he wanted to be when he grows up, an answer the school is asking him to change.
Kitchener
-
Guelph high school volleyball referee facing multiple sex assault charges
A man, who was a referee at high school volleyball games in Guelph for more than 30 years, is facing sex assault-related charges.
-
Region says high safety risk at Kitchener encampment, residents will have to move
The Region of Waterloo says there's a high safety risk at a Kitchener encampment and they are working with residents to prepare them for their eventual move.
-
Swoop says it can't offer flights from Region of Waterloo airport due to deal with Flair
Two low-cost airlines are butting heads over an agreement at the Region of Waterloo International Airport. Swoop wants to offer flights but the airport already has an exclusivity deal with rival Flair Airlines
Regina
-
Regina Public Schools remain offline, cyber attack confirmed
Cyber security attacks happen every day, and as Regina Public Schools division discovered this week, no one is safe.
-
'Very upset': Senior housing residents plead for Sask. Housing Corporation to rebuild after winter fire
Former residents of a Carievale seniors housing complex want the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation (SHC) to reconsider its decision to demolish the home.
-
Western Premiers' Conference focuses on healthcare funding from Ottawa
Premiers from western Canada met to discuss healthcare in their first face-to-face meeting in more than two years in Regina on Friday at the 2022 Western Premiers' Conference.
Barrie
-
Paul Sadlon sexual assault trial wraps with closing submissions
On the final day of the Paul Sadlon sexual assault trial, the defence called the complainant's allegations "straight out lies" and "not believable at all."
-
OPP search for missing senior in Springwater Township
Provincial police are searching for a missing senior who went for a walk with his two dogs on trails behind his home in Springwater Township Thursday afternoon.
-
Aurora couple plans to buy house with $1M lottery prize
An Aurora couple is making plans to buy a house after winning the lottery.
Saskatoon
-
Saskatoon man says three dogs ‘tried to kill his dog’ at off-leash dog park
Barrett Ross says his dog Indy suffered a punctured bowel, lost a tooth and had his stomach injured when he was attacked by three other dogs.
-
Saskatoon's temporary downtown shelter granted extension
The Saskatoon Tribal Council's (STC) temporary downtown shelter has been granted an extension to operate at its present location until April 2023 — but Tribal Chief Mark Arcand hopes to relocate well before then.
-
Prince Albert police lay murder charge after pedestrian fatally injured by vehicle
A pedestrian injured by a vehicle in Prince Albert has died.
Northern Ontario
-
Sudbury’s Bell Excellence Award winners survived during difficult times
Thursday evening, the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce hosted the 25th annual Bell Business Excellence Awards.
-
Walking in Sudbury to mark the discovery of unmarked graves in B.C.
On Friday, there was a walk in Sudbury to remember the remains of 215 residential schoolchildren found in Kamloops, B.C., a year ago May 27.
-
Sault Métis Centre excited for grand opening
Staff at the new Sault Metis Centre are getting set for the grand opening Saturday.