Vaccines approach 70 per cent coverage, logging pause on Vancouver Island, and earth gains a new ocean

QUEBEC COVID UPDATE

For your COVID-19 update…

Quebec reported record low case counts this week for a daily average below 200 as of Thursday morning.

This as healthcare workers are administering about 80 thousand vaccines per day.

So far about 70 per cent of Quebecers have gotten at least one dose.

Elsewhere in Canada, Manitoba is still reporting the most infections per million residents of any province or American state.

LOGGING PAUSE CALLED ON VANCOUVER ISLAND

Across the country…

After an extended standoff between police and blockaders, the BC government has approved a two-year pause on old-growth logging on Vancouver Island.

The pause affects an area of now-protected forest in the Fairy Creek and Walbran regions, which has been the site of ongoing conflict in recent months.

First Nations and protestors have been laying stones and barricades on logging roads to protect the trees, some of which have been growing there for centuries.

Premier John Horgan praised his government for the move, calling it, quote, monumental.

EARTH GAINS A NEW OCEAN

Finally,

Earth got a new ocean, Tuesday.

Yes, National Geographic says they are officially recognizing the area of water around antarctica as the so-called Southern Ocean.

The magazine says the region is distinct from the existing oceans, with its own current and temperature patterns.

Until further notice, the earth now has five oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Mediterranean, and now, Southern.