Police officers will have the power to intercept individuals found outside during the curfew hours and to issue fines ranging from $1,000 to $6,000 to those who cannot show a valid reason for breaking curfew. In the wake of similar COVID-19-related lockdown measures in France and Great Britain, Québec will become the first Canadian province to impose such a curfew. The government will enforce an overnight curfew between the hours of 8:00 p.m. The primary measure, which Premier François Legault described as an “electroshock” to curb the spread of COVID-19, is the imposition of an overnight curfew. By Sunday, 169 people had confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19, more than 40 per cent of the total population.On January 6, 2021, the Québec government announced new COVID-19 restrictions that will take effect from January 9, 2021, through February 8, 2021. 30 when 43 residents tested positive for the virus. The strain caused by the growing number of cases is exacerbated in remote communities where health care is already limited.īearskin Lake First Nation, a fly-in only community in northern Ontario, declared a state of emergency on Dec. The hospital network says 783 health-care workers are in isolation, in addition to the 600 nurses already missing from the workforce before the pandemic's fifth wave hit. Martin Beaumont, President and CEO of the CHU de Québec-Université Laval, told a news conference that as many as 10,000 medical appointments could be delayed, allowing roughly 50 nurses to also be redirected to the pandemic's ward. Quebec City's main hospital network says it will postpone half of its surgeries and medical appointments starting Wednesday due to the spike in COVID patients.
It said 162 people are in intensive care, an increase of nine. The Health Department said the number of hospitalizations linked to the disease rose by 70 to 1,231. The closures came as Quebec reported 15,845 new COVID-19 cases, as well as 13 additional deaths linked to the virus. "We must leave the choice to businesses to open or close at the time that makes the most sense for them, their employees and their customers." "The last thing businesses need during these difficult times is additional restrictions" Milliard said in a statement. Quebec Premier Francois Legault announced last week that the bulk of the province's stores would be closed for the next three Sundays, with the exception of pharmacies, convenience stores and gas stations.Ĭharles Milliard, president of the Quebec Federation of Chambers of Commerce, urged the government to lift the measures as soon as possible.
Hospitals and health-care resources in Quebec and Canada's remote northern communities are also being stretched as case numbers explode. MONTREAL, Quebec (AP) - Quebec proceeded with the first of three planned closures of non-essential retail stores Sunday as the provincial government tried to curb a new wave of COVID-19 driven by the highly infectious Omicron variant. Some new measures put in place by the Quebec government, including the closure of stores, go into effect today. A woman walks by a closed store in a shopping mall in Montreal, Sunday as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Canada.