TORONTO An upcoming nightly curfew in Quebec is hogging the headlines, but some public health experts say it s another plank of Premier Francois Legault s new plan that other provinces should pay the most attention to. Legault announced Wednesday several new measures aimed at curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus in the province, where the COVID-19 curve has been rising sharply since late November. The measures include a curfew that will affect the vast majority of Quebecers. As of Saturday, anyone caught outside their home between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. for any reason other than work, walking a pet within one kilometre of their home or visiting a pharmacy will be subject to a fine of up to $6,000.
MONTREAL As of Saturday, Quebecers will be living under a curfew while the province struggles to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. As expected, Premier Francois Legault announced a shock therapy of several new lockdown measures on Wednesday afternoon. Among the measures is a curfew that will require Quebecers to be in their homes by 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. or risk a fine of up to $6,000. For people who say I won t be able to go for a walk anymore, well, come on, Legault said. If you want to work a little bit later, you can work after 8 p.m. at home, and go for a walk during the day, he said.
Quebec manufacturers, builders warn against new COVID-19 lockdowns
Jacob Serebrin, The Canadian Press
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âMONTREAL - Quebec s manufacturing and construction associations say there will be major damage to Quebec s economy if the government imposes a strict COVID-19 lockdown similar to what occurred last spring.
Veronique Proulx, CEO of Manufacturiers et Exportateurs du Quebec, reacted Tuesday to multiple media reports saying Premier Francois Legault is set to close non-essential manufacturing businesses to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
âThe worst scenario for us would be to go back to the same situation we had last spring,â Proulx said in an interview. She said Quebec manufacturers lost $4 billion in sales when they were shut during the first wave of the pandemic and she expects a similar situation if manufacturers are forced to close again.
MONTREAL Quebec's manufacturing and construction associations say there will be major damage to Quebec's economy if the government imposes a strict COVID-19 lockdown similar to what occurred last spring.
At the Jewish General Hospital, where under normal circumstances there are 24 intensive care beds, capacity has been increased to 30, with 20 of those occupied by COVID-19 patients, according to ICU chief Paul Warshawsky. All the ICUs in Montreal in particular are working to increase their capacity, he said. There are plans to go up to 32 to 34, depending on how we decide to do it. Then we have to open a second ICU, which we did in the first wave in what was the cardiology department. But in the first wave, that was a little easier to do because for reasons we still don t understand, there were less cardiac patients.