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B.C. restaurants ordered to offer takeout or delivery only as COVID-19 cases rise

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Wine and food. (Stock photo)

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry ordered B.C. restaurants to move to takeout or delivery only today (March 20) as the number of people who had tested positive in the province reached 348.

The provincial government ordered bars and nightclubs to close earlier this week, but restaurants had been allowed to serve on-site if they could keep customers two metres aparrt.

Henry announced 77 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C. on Friday, bringing the total to 348.

There are now 30 cases on Vancouver Island, 200 cases in the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, 95 in Fraser Health, 19 in Interior Health and four in Northern Health.

Twenty-two people are in hospital, up from 17 on Wednesday (March 18). There are 10 people in intensive care units.

Six people have recovered completely, while eight people have died.

In most instances, the province and health authority are not identifying where people who have tested positive are from, citing a need for patient privacy.

On Thursday (March 19), however, the University of Victoria confirmed that one of its students had tested positive for COVID-19, and Island Health issued a bulletin warning of possible exposure at the university and Saanich Commonwealth Place.