Morning Update for March 20th, 2020.

NANAIMO —BC's Provincial Health Officer has announced 40 new cases of COVID19, including 6 new cases on Vancouver Island. Dr. Bonnie Henry says the total number of cases in BC has risen to 271, with 22 of them in the Island Health region. Henry says there has been another death from the virus, and this one was a patient from the Lynn Valley Care Centre. The most recent death brings the total number of deaths in BC to 8. There have been no deaths in the Vancouver Island region.

For more information on COVID19, you can call a new hotline from 7:30 am until 8:00 pm. The provincial government hotline includes information in more than 100 languages with topics ranging from travel restrictions to social distancing. The number is 1-888-COVID19.

The Nanaimo News Bulletin is reporting that BC Ferries will no longer serve any food on its ships until further notice. However, customers will still be able to buy food and beverages from their vending machines onboard. And BC Ferries northern routes will have some limited food options available. The ferry corporation says it will donate its perishable food to The Rainbow Kitchen foodbank in Victoria.

Some grocers are taking additional measures to help prevent the spread of the virus. Save On Foods and Country Grocer has suspended bottle returns and is banning the use of reusable shopping bags. However, they will provide plastic or paper bags to their customers free of charge. Meanwhile, Thrifty Foods is reducing its hours of operation. Starting tomorrow its stores will be open from 8:00 am until 8:00 pm daily. The company says the reduced hours will give its employees more time to restock shelves and better sanitize the stores.

And, BC Liquor stores have reduced their hours to 11:00 am until 7:00 pm Monday to Saturday. BC Cannabis stores have restricted their hours from 10:00 am until 6:00 pm. On Sundays, they will open an hour later, at 11:00 am.

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Lisa Cordasco

Senior Reporter and News Director — Lisa is responsible for creating the station's first morning news current affairs show on CHLY. She is also deeply involved in training and mentoring student and citizen journalists who volunteer their time at the station. Before joining CHLY, Lisa spent 35 years in various roles at CBC Radio, from host to reporter. Her passion for journalism and radio has led her to Nanaimo, where she intends to provide CHLY listeners with news they can use, in an alternative radio environment. Her other not-so-secret passion is costuming for any occasion.

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