Coronavirus (COVID-19) Local News

Tempted by record-breaking heat on Mother’s Day, Islanders flocked to beaches and parks on the first weekend since the B.C. government announced its restart plan.

Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog is penning poetry and busting out rap lyrics on social media to help charities.

Many post-secondary students on Vancouver Island won’t be back on campus in September.

Across B.C., people are working in health care amid a global pandemic. Many cheer them from their balconies and porches each night at 7 p.m. Often in his daily briefings, B.C.

Omar Ahmad says he only has to talk to his brother to know what people living on Vancouver Island have been spared.

John Hillman, the 101-year-old walking daily laps in the courtyard of his Oak Bay retirement home, has surpassed his ambitious fundraising goal. The centenarian has already raised more than $115,000 as of Saturday at 7 p.m.

Restrictions on visitors to long-term care and acute-care hospitals will remain in place through Mother’s Day on Sunday.

John Hillman, a 101-year-old Second World War veteran, waves at friends and cheering supporters as he completes his daily laps around the courtyard of his Oak Bay retirement home.

Tens of thousands of surgeries and screenings cancelled to make hospital beds available for the pandemic will start to be rescheduled mid-month, as the province kicks off a $250-million plan to clear the backlog.

Most of the Island’s provincial parks will reopen for day use next week, but some of the most popular areas will remain closed indefinitely to avoid overcrowding.