News/Canada/British Columbia

A little over five years ago, a sense of panic was spreading within British Columbia's public health system as it tracked the spread of a new virus: what would become known as COVID-19. "I think we have to admit there would have been somewhat of a scramble," said B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) epidemiologist Dr. Jat Sandhu — a scramble to make sure there was enough personal protective equipment for medical professionals and to get information and understand the gravity of the situation. "As an epidemiologist, it was the time to step up."That uneasiness was quickly felt by the general public as details were shared by scientists and government officials. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic as COVID-19 cases and deaths soared. Less than a week ...

Protesters demanding the government provide more funding and treatment for people with long COVID gathered at a demonstration at the Vancouver Art Gallery on Saturday.Long COVID is a chronic condition that can lead to debilitating symptoms, like brain fog and fatigue, months or even years after an acute COVID-19 infection.No one knows exactly how many people in B.C. have the condition, but a Statistics Canada report from December 2023 estimated there were 3.5 million Canadians who reported experiencing long-term symptoms following a COVID-19 infection, and around 100,000 had been unable to return to work or school due to long COVID.More than a dozen people were at Saturday's protest, which marked Long COVID Awareness Day. The protestors said they feel forgotten and left behind as much of t...

The Homalco First Nation is holding its fourth funeral in six months this week for a young community member who died from a drug overdose.The north Island Nation is the third Indigenous group on Vancouver Island to declare a state of emergency due to the toxic drug crisis. It is joining calls for federal and provincial government leaders to take urgent action and provide resources to help them deal with it."This crisis is a direct result of the aftermath of residential schools and the lasting generational trauma that continues to devastate Indigenous communities," it said."The toxic drug epidemic is not just a Homalco issue—it is a direct consequence of colonial policies that fractured families, suppressed culture, and left lasting scars on Indigenous people."In March 2024, the Gwa'Sala-Na...

Two people died a little over an hour apart in Victoria on Monday, Victoria police and the B.C. Coroners Service have confirmed. An outreach worker says the city's enforcement of anti-sheltering bylaws has made it more difficult for support workers to help those struggling on downtown streets and blames their deaths on drug overdoses.The B.C. Coroners Service says a man also died in downtown Victoria on March 8 and that the cause of all three deaths is still under investigation. On Tuesday, Island Health issued an advisory of an increased risk to those using unregulated substances on the South Island, as "drug poisonings are increasing in Greater Victoria."Karen Mills, founder of Peer 2 Peer Indigenous Society, says she's never seen so many deaths within the local street community as she h...

British Columbia clinicians have received new guidance about involuntary care for adults, including a directive that it cannot be used to prevent harmful "risk-taking" by people who use drugs whose behaviour is not related to mental impairment. The guidance from Dr. Daniel Vigo, B.C.'s first chief scientific adviser for psychiatry, is aimed at helping clinicians and others decide when involuntary admission is appropriate for people with both mental-health and substance-use disorders.Vigo said in a news release that involuntary treatment "can be a tool to preserve life and treat the source of impairment" among those with such complex needs.Health Minister Josie Osborne says the new guidance doesn't constitute changes to the Mental Health Act. (Mike McArthur/CBC)Health Minister Josie Osborne...

Three people died a little over an hour apart in Victoria on Monday, Victoria police and the B.C. Coroners Service have confirmed. An outreach worker says the city's enforcement of anti-sheltering bylaws has made it more difficult for support workers to help those struggling on downtown streets and blames their deaths on drug overdoses.The B.C. Coroners Service says a man also died in downtown Victoria on March 8 and that the cause of all four deaths is still under investigation. On Tuesday, Island Health issued an advisory of an increased risk to those using unregulated substances on the South Island, as "drug poisonings are increasing in Greater Victoria."Karen Mills, founder of Peer 2 Peer Indigenous Society, says she's never seen so many deaths within the local street community as she ...

British Columbia has turned its eye toward luring doctors and nurses from the United States to move north in what Health Minister Josie Osborne is calling an "unprecedented" recruitment opportunity.Osborne says the province is changing its licensing rules so U.S.-trained doctors can begin practising in B.C. right away, without any need for further assessment, exams or training.She said there will be a similar scale-back of the barriers facing U.S.-trained nurses and that a marketing campaign will be unveiled in Washington, Oregon and California within the next few months."With the uncertainty and chaos happening south of our border, we have an unprecedented opportunity to attract skilled health-care workers interested in moving to Canada," Osborne said in a statement.She was more blunt in ...

The Cure is a CBC News series examining strategies provinces and territories are using to tackle the primary care crisis.When doctors Jacques and Mariska Neuhoff take their two kids to the park in their home in Williams Lake, they can just let their kids play.And they never forget just how special that is.They moved to the Interior B.C. community of around 11,000 people five years ago from Pretoria in South Africa. They didn't want their children to have to grow up in gated communities."Here we have the freedom and the luxury of roaming free, having our kids play around, riding their bikes outside, visiting neighbors," Said Jacques Neuhoff. "That's priceless, to be honest."It wasn't easy getting here. The couple estimates they spent about three years and around $60,000 on flights and exams...

Health officials in British Columbia say two new travel-related cases of measles have been confirmed in the Lower Mainland, bringing the number of those recently infected to four.Fraser Health says both infected people travelled in the same group from South Korea as another person whose measles infection was identified earlier this week. These cases are unrelated to an infection last month involving a resident of the Vancouver Coastal Health region who was also infected after a trip to Southeast Asia.Officials have also expanded a list of locations where members of the public might have been exposed, including Vancouver's airport, a supermarket in Burnaby and a restaurant in Coquitlam.WATCH | Another 2 measles cases crop up in Lower Mainland: More travel-related measles cases confirmed in ...

In defence of the Cialis and Viagra he was accused of passing off as "natural health" remedies, Yan (Andy) Zhang claimed he took one of the products himself — "almost daily."The owner of four Lower Mainland sex shops said he had "no adverse reaction" to the medicine that he sold as a "reliable traditional herbal formula" called "Harmony."But the disguised erectile dysfunction drugs did earn Zhang a stiff penalty this week when a B.C. Provincial Court judge slapped his company with a $1-million fine in a landmark decision for advertising, packaging and selling a drug in a false, misleading or deceptive manner.According to Judge Bonnie Craig, the case is precedent-setting — "the first known decision in Canada involving the sentencing of a corporation for this offence."'"The vulnerability of ...