Restaurants, epidemiologist react to Quebec’s new COVID-19 measures

Stay at home and cancel holiday gatherings – that was the message from Quebec Premier Francois Legault as he announced new restrictions Wednesday.

Christmas gatherings remain capped at ten people, but as of December 26, only six people or two family bubbles can be inside a private residence for get-togethers. Restaurants can stay open at 50 per cent capacity but will only be able to seat six people at tables.

“It’s kind of good news we are not closing down, many owners were waiting for the decision from Premier Legault and his government. To be open means we can keep key employees. What we saw in the closures last year is that we have lost many employees and if we were closed down again that’s what we were afraid of, of losing some new members of our team,” explained Martin Vézina with the Association Restauration Quebec.

When announcing the tightened measures, Legault said the province could see 9,000 COVID-19 cases per day in the next 24 hours.

“That’s a lot and if that number continues to go up it’s going to be very, very difficult to get things under control if we do not increase the public health measures that are in place,” said epidemiologist Dr. Christopher Labos.

“The reality is that if numbers continue to go up, we’re going to have to put in place tighter measures. We’re going to have to make people stay home and cut contacts because that’s the only way to really limit the spread of the virus.”

The new restrictions announced start on Dec. 26, but Labos says there is no way of knowing if they will be effective in curbing the spread of the virus.

“The problem is that it takes two weeks before we see any intervention to have really a measurable impact so we’re going to have to see how the numbers evolve over the next couple of days to weeks and we’ll have to adjust,” he added.

The new rules are the latest challenge for restaurant owners, who have had to adapt throughout the pandemic.

“We are seeing [fewer] customers in our restaurants because of the guidelines to not gather at any place but it’s still better to be open to be able to accept some at once,” said Vézina.

“Legault said [Wednesday] in his press conference that 50 per cent of the hospitalized cases come from the unvaccinated. At restaurants there’s no unvaccinated people it’s only people that are adequately vaccinated that can enter a restaurant, so I believe that the vaccine passport and the other measures we can provide a safe environment and I think the public might also think that it’s still safe where there are staff that can say ‘hey, you forgot your mask’ and to put it back. You won’t see that at home.”

For those still looking to gather for the holidays, Labos says there are ways to minimize the risk.

“Make sure you are fully vaccinated and everyone at the gathering has gotten a booster if they are eligible to get one. Wear a mask, keep your distance be in a well-ventilated space, so all that stuff helps. It’s really just minimizing the risk as much as possible, but the best way to minimize the risk is to stay home because then the risk is essentially zero.”