Red zone measures could be extended in lead up to Christmas, says Legault
Posted November 17, 2020 6:18 pm.
Last Updated November 17, 2020 10:10 pm.
MONTREAL (CityNews) – Quebec’s red zone measures likely to extend past Nov. 23, according to Premier François Legault.
“The next step is Christmas. We’re preparing the holiday plan with public health authorities,” said Premier Legault as he updated the COVID-19 situation in Quebec. “We want an adapted and healthy Christmas with our family. We’ll announce our plan soon to allow everyone to prepare.”
This comes as the province sees a spike in hospitalizations and ICU numbers. Deaths continue to climb, but cases look to be stabilizing around 1,000 per day. Testing is showing a positivity rate of 5.4 per cent overall in Quebec and around 5.8 per cent in Montreal.
Legault added the data shows that the measures are helping. That means bars and restaurant dinning rooms, among others, would remain closed.
WATCH: Quebec COVID-19 update, Nov. 17, 2020
The government is also looking to extend the school holidays for students, with no extra virtual learning. As of right now, it looks like one or two weeks will be added to the end of the vacation period, but nothing is set at this point.
“The issue here is to get the good equilibrium, because we don’t want to confine everybody. It could be a solution. Let’s say everybody goes back home and stays there for a month, and then we will come back to lower rates, but it’s almost impossible. People will get crazy,” said Quebec Public Health Director, Dr. Horacio Arruda.
The government is warning shoppers and store and mall owners alike to continue to follow public health measures as the holiday season approaches and more people could be out looking for the perfect gift.
“In the spring, a lot of measures by stores, but we’ve seen in the last days and last months a certain, a certain ‘relâchement,’ and so we must come back to a tight approach, because we don’t want outbreaks. Imagine you’re doing your shopping, you get the disease, and you cannot have a good time at Christmas time,” said Arruda.
“We’ll have to be in good position in December. We have a collective mission in the coming weeks. We must contain the wave together to have a Christmas time with our family, we must apply public health rules strictly,” ended Premier Legault.
