Coronavirus (COVID-19) Local News

Vancouver Island places of worship have suspended or altered weekend services and social events after health officials advised cancelling gatherings of more than 250 people. Provincial health officer Dr.

The B.C. and federal governments are advising against travel abroad, and are encouraging Canadians who are out of the country to return as soon as possible. B.C.

B.C. Ferries is reducing sailings between Victoria and Vancouver at the start of spring break because COVID-19 social-distancing measures have led to a decrease in traffic.

Jury selection has been cancelled everywhere in B.C. until the end of May as a result of the rapidly evolving situation with the COVID-19 virus, the Supreme Court announced Friday. In criminal cases, an accused can elect to be tried by judge alone.

The impact of the coronavirus, COVID-19, is unprecedented in my lifetime.

They say if you stay in the news business long enough, you’ll see everything. Perhaps that’s true. I’ve covered the arts in Victoria since 1988. That’s 32 years, a long time. But never have I seen anything affect the local scene like COVID-19.

Greater Victoria grocery stores were caught off guard this week by the volume of customers and their desire to stock up on essentials, and not-so-essentials, as fear over the COVID-19 outbreak spread.

A B.C. retail consultant expects people to increasingly buy groceries online, eat at home more often, and postpone non-essential shopping now that health officials are encouraging “social distancing” to combat COVID-19.

Here’s an announcement we didn’t want to have to make: We’re postponing this spring’s Times Colonist book sale. Note the terminology, though. Postponing, not cancelling.

Arts and culture event calendars in Victoria have been decimated by COVID-19, with hundreds of cancellations during the past 48 hours. Practically every venue in town has released an updated schedule affected by the pandemic.