Vancouver Daily News

05/31/2022

These are the symptoms of monkeypox and how to treat them

Monkeypox symptoms generally last between two and four weeks.
Cases of monkeypox continue to rise as a recent outbreak reaches countries in North America and Europe, where the disease is not commonly found.
As of Wednesday, 189 infections were confirmed and 94 are suspected in 19 non-endemic nations, according to Global Health.
Of those cases, one is confirmed and seven are suspected in the U.S. across six states, Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director of the Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a media briefing Monday.
"We're in the early days of this response," she said. "It's likely that there are going to be additional cases reported in the United States."
She continued: "I don't think that there's a great risk to the general community from monkeypox. right now, in the United States. I think that we need to pay close attention to the communities in which this might be circulating, so that we can communicate effectively with them and help bring this outbreak under control."

05/29/2022

‘Unprovoked’ Vancouver stabbing sends 2 women to hospital: police

Two women were taken to hospital after what Vancouver police describe as an “unprovoked stabbing” in the Kitsilano neighbourhood overnight.

Const. Tania Visintin said it happened early Friday morning in a building near 3rd Avenue and Arbutus Street.
Both victims suffered non-life threatening injuries, she said.

05/29/2022

Wave of health care resignations in Northern B.C. as calls grow for audit

A wave of resignations among Northern B.C. health-care workers – including half the doctors in the intensive care unit of the region’s biggest hospitals – is raising alarms among civic leaders already calling for an audit.
Sources tell CTV News that frustration has boiled over after health-care workers raised dire warnings about the Northern Health authority nearing collapse, but were unaddressed. Now doctors across the region have tendered their resignations.

Municipal and provincial leaders describe warning the provincial government of the crisis staffing levels and deteriorating situation, but their calls for a “comprehensive audit” of Northern Health, namely around services provided, deficiencies and gaps in those services, and what’s leading to staffing issues, have been brushed aside.

“(Staff shortages are) not just a British Columbia issue, but I think British Columbia could really be a leader in peeling the layers of the onion back and looking at what can we do better?” said Fort St. John mayor, Lori Ackerman.

05/27/2022

Two young girls reportedly abducted from their Vancouver home
Two young girls have apparently been abducted from their Vancouver home.

In a release, the Police Department says they are looking for a woman who apparently took the girls from the home in Strathcona on Thursday night.
“Investigators believe 37-year-old Alana Ridings took sisters Maryam Alshehadeh, age nine, and Mary Alshehadeh, age seven, from their mother’s home near Campbell and Hastings streets on May 26 around 7 pm,” reads the release.
Ridings is known to the children and their mother and there is no indication they have been harmed.
Ridings, who also goes by the name Angelina Bruce, is Caucasian, 5’10”, and about 170 pounds. She has a fair complexion and brown hair.
“The photos we have released today show what the two girls were wearing at the time they left their home last night,” says Constable Tania Visintin. “Anyone with information about their whereabouts, recent activities, or travel plans should call 911, or investigators at 604-717-0600.”

05/22/2022

is a disease that is usually found in animals, but it can also be spread to humans.

People with monkeypox can experience symptoms like:
➡️ fever
➡️ headache
➡️ muscle pains
➡️ exhaustion
➡️ swollen lymph nodes

These symptoms are followed by a rash.

Person-to-person spread of monkeypox can occur. It’s spread by close contact with an infected person through:
➡️ broken skin or contact via the eyes, nose or mouth
➡️ sharing clothing, bedding or items that have been contaminated with their fluids or sores.

As with many other diseases, to help lower your risk, follow individual public health measures like:
➡️ maintaining physical distance
➡️ washing your hands frequently
➡️ practising respiratory hygiene including wearing a mask

Public health officials are monitoring this evolving situation closely. If you think you or someone in your home may have monkeypox, you should contact a health care professional immediately.

For more information, please visit: http://ow.ly/qTQe50JeMKw

05/22/2022

Police say they are investigating after a senior was attacked with bear spray in Chinatown Friday morning. Police say the attack appears to be racially motivated.

According to police, the 87-year-old victim, a Chinatown resident, was out for his morning walk Friday when he was attacked around 11:40 a.m. Police say the victim was standing at the bus stop near Pender and Columbia streets when a stranger came up to him, made racist comments, and bear-sprayed him in the face.

A bystander who witnessed the incident stopped to help the victim. Police say the attacker fled and has yet to be identified.

05/20/2022

Polish festival in to help Ukrainians, celebrate two cultures

05/20/2022

A man in his 20s has been charged after reports that a three-year-old child was inappropriately touched at a store in Surrey on Sunday.
Surrey RCMP says that on Sunday, May 15, they received a report that a toddler was allegedly groped in a store near 124 Street and 88 Avenue. The child’s father, along with other bystanders, kept the suspect on the scene until police arrived

The nature of this incident and the fact it involved a young child in a public place is very concerning, says Surrey RCMP Media Relations Office, Corporal Vanessa Munn. This incident had an emotional impact on all parties involved, and we have taken steps to ensure appropriate referrals have been made so that everyone gets the support they need.
When police arrived, they spoke with witnesses and looked over the CCTV footage from the store and a suspect was arrested and released as the investigation continued.
According to a release, Surrey RCMP Special Victims Unit took conduct of the investigation and submitted a report to Crown Counsel recommending charges.
Several days later, on May 18, 24-year-old Adam Alexander Newbigging was charged with Sexual Assault and Sexual Interference, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was arrested the following day and remains in custody, awaiting a court appearance.

05/20/2022

’s top doctor says a second province is now investigating possible cases of monkeypox, but federal officials are trying to determine the “extent to which the spread has occurred in Canada.”

Dr. Theresa Tam says public health is expecting to know more in the coming hours about cases in B.C.

“There are samples on the processing at the National Microbiology Lab[oratory] as we speak. So we might expect to hear more confirmations in the upcoming hours and days. I think local authorities are still doing the case contact tracing,” she said.

If confirmed, . would be the second province to record the viral disease.

“I would say just under a couple of dozen people [are under] investigation by local authorities, mainly in Quebec, but a couple of contacts [are] being followed up in British Columbia as well,” Tam said.

05/20/2022

Gas prices dropped almost a dime per litre for regular at many stations in Metro Friday morning, giving some financial relief ahead for the start of the May long weekend.
Many reported the price had dipped to around $2.14 per litre for regular gas, which a significant change from the $2.30 per litre that many motorists have been paying in recent days.
However, one expert says that lower price won’t last.
Senior Petroleum Analyst Roger McKnight with En-Pro International says the price at the pump will go back up at least five cents on Saturday.
“Why it went down 10 cents is a little bit of a mystery and it’s pretty well right across the country,” McKnight said.
“I think what happened was there was some anticipation that the demand for refined products would drop due to the COVID situation in China… so everybody’s eyes glazed over. The speculators said, ‘OK, that will drive down demand, so we’ll drive down the price.’ But then lo and behold on Wednesday, we had the U.S. inventory report and that showed basically a drop in inventories of crude again. We had a drop in gasoline inventories again by 5 million barrels, so that threw the teeter-totter way out of whack, so the prices are going up tomorrow about five cents a litre, it’s just the merry-go-round,” he said

05/20/2022

Fossil fuel subsidies ending under B.C.'s new oil, gas royalty system

British Columbia is changing its decades-old royalty system, the fees it charges companies to extract publicly owned oil and gas, in an effort to align with provincial climate goals.

Premier John Horgan said the “broken system” of fossil-fuel subsidies doesn't fit with his government's climate plans or ensure people benefit from the resources.

11/12/2021