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Reduced hours, designated shopping hours for seniors and perhaps a new wrinkle to delivery are on the menu for Greater Victoria’s grocery stores, which have seen a crush of customers amid concern about COVID-19.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced 40 new cases of COVID-19 in sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½, bringing the total number of cases to 271.

sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ Transit has stopped collecting fares and is loading passengers through rear doors as it works to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. The measures will be in place for 30 days.

Parks sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ has suspended visitor services in all national parks, national historic sites and national marine conservation areas across the country until further notice.

Clipper Vacations will suspend its passenger ferry service between Victoria and Seattle until May 20 — three weeks longer than it had previously planned.

Singer-songwriter Stephen Fearing missed out on a golden opportunity when his concert scheduled for this weekend at the Dave Dunnet Theatre — which was nearing a sell-out — was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The federal government’s economic measures Wednesday were the most decisive moves in the war against the personal and financial perils the country will face in the first weeks of the pandemic.

Pharmacies in sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ have been overwhelmed since Monday, when the health minister announced that pharmacists will be able to refill prescriptions without an additional doctor’s note.

Not all health-care workers are required to self-isolate after returning from international travel, which has some people concerned about the risk of spreading COVID-19 to patients and other health-care professionals.

Jill Walgren grew up in Victoria and attended the University of Victoria, but since late 2002, she has been working as a teacher in Hong Kong, where residents got a seven-week jump in the battle against COVID-19.