Top Stories – Aug 24 – Vaccine Passport Coming

The province is targeting a start date of Sept 13 for the BC Vaccine Card. People with at least one shot will show it at things like ticketed sporting events, indoor concerts and restaurants. Two doses of vaccine will be required as of October 24. A secure weblink will be up before the 13th where proof can be saved to phones. Those without smartphones or Internet will be provided with a secure alternative.

Premier John Horgan pretty much confirmed yesterday that because of the Delta variant of Covid-19, BC will not be moving into step 4 of the recovery plan in September. There were 768 new cases in Interior Health alone between Friday and yesterday and 14 deaths in the region. The province will give an update on health and safety measures for K-12 schools and post-secondary institutions for the upcoming school year at 9:30.

With cooler temperatures, high humidity and some precipitation over the fire ground, the Mount Law fire has slowly spread down-slope in the south towards the guard above the Connector. While the threat has eased… there are just 2 properties on evac order and 564 on Alert… some of the fire is still uncontained in a few areas and crews are working for containment by doing small, controlled burns.

Once again, thanks to the weather and the hard work of firefighters, no significant growth was measured in the White Rock Lake wildfire. The Evacuation Order and Alert is unchanged for properties in the North Westside. BC Wildfire is preparing to conduct large-scale planned ignition operations along the northeast flank.

With cold overnight temperatures, high humidity and some precipitation, the Thomas Creek fire near Okanagan Falls is currently stalled with little to minimal growth of its 10,700 hectares. Further south, the Nk’Mip Creek wildfire north of Osoyoos has also been holding steady at about 20-thousand hectares. Some Canadian Forces troops have been repositioned to the fire to replace the Mexican firefighters who are taking a few days off.

The BC Prosecution Service says a charge of assault has been laid against Kelowna RCMP Constable Lacey Browning for her involvement in a wellness check in January last year. It stems from a check on Mona Wang at her apartment where the nursing student said she was dragged down the hallway and had her head stepped on. A civil lawsuit filed in the case was already settled.

On the federal election campaign trail, the Liberals promised to spend more than 3 Billion dollars to help the provinces hire 7,500 more family doctors and nurse practitioners. The Conservatives said they would put recovering from addiction at the centre of a $1.3-Billion strategy to deal with the opioid crisis.

Okanagan Clinical Trials of Kelowna is seeking people living with a combination of Alzheimer’s and agitation to take part in a clinical study. It’s looking to determine the effectiveness and safety of a medication. It’s looking for both men and women between the ages of 65 and 90 who have received a probable diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and info can be found on the Okanagan Clinical Trials website.

Trillium Therapeutics has signed a deal to be bought by Pfizer for 2.26 Billion U-S dollars. Trillium is based in Mississauga and is developing treatments to enhance the ability of a patient’s immune system to detect and destroy cancer cells.

Sports

Team Canada is back on the ice in Calgary at 3 this afternoon at the Women’s World Hockey Championships. They take on Switzerland after earlier wins against Finland and Russia.

BC Lions players are being monitored after a covid outbreak among the Edmonton Elks, the last team they played. The CFL has cancelled this weekend’s game between Edmonton and Toronto. The Elks have not said how many players are not vaccinated.

Calgary Sports and Entertainment says all fans, employees, and event staff eligible to be vaccinated must be fully inoculated to attend Stampeders and Flames games effective September 15. The Flames join the Jets and Maple Leafs as NHL teams with vaccination policies in place for both fans and staff.

The Toronto Blue Jays will require fans to provide either proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result to attend the final 12 games at Rogers Centre this season. The new measures, are set to go into effect for the team’s last two homestands beginning Sept. 13.

The Penticton Iron Man and Dragon Boat events have been cancelled. After having the plug pulled last year as well, both are hoping to return next year.

Once again, NFL quarterback Cam Newton and covid have crossed paths. He refused to reveal his vaccination status earlier at training camp, adding it was a personal matter. The Patriots say he has not tested positive and his 5-day ban from practise is due to a misunderstanding.