All of Quebec now out of pandemic red zone, restrictions ease further in some regions

MONTREAL – All of Quebec is now out of the province’s highest pandemic alert level amid a continued decline in the number of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

Montreal and its northern suburb Laval along with several smaller municipalities – the only parts of Quebec that remained at the red pandemic-alert level – moved to the lower orange level on Monday. Under the orange level, gyms and restaurant dining rooms can reopen and high school students can return to in-person learning full-time instead of having online classes on alternating days.

Montrealer Patricia Miller, a client of Econofitness, one of Quebec’s fitness club chains, says she waited impatiently for gyms to reopen.

“It represents so much happiness, self-care, good health, blowing some steam off,” she said in an interview Monday.

Indoor dining opened in Montreal Monday for the first time in more than eight months, though under strict rules: a limit of two adults from different households and their children under 18 years old are permitted at a table.

Restrictions were eased further on Monday in six other Quebec regions and part of a seventh. That included the regions of Abitibi-Temiscamingue, Cote-Nord and Nord du Quebec, which moved to the province’s green or lowest alert level. Indoor gatherings of 10 people from three households are permitted in green zones.

Meanwhile, people 80 and older became eligible on Monday to advance their second doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Last week, the province shortened the interval between doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines to eight weeks from 16. Rebooking will open gradually on the government’s online portal in descending order of age.

Quebec reported 194 new cases of COVID-19 Monday and three more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, including one in the past 24 hours. Health officials said hospitalizations dropped by nine, to 265, and 58 people were in intensive care, a drop of three patients.

The province said 66,590 doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered Sunday, for a total of 6,153,771; about 66 per cent of Quebecers have received at least one dose.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2021.