MONTREAL GOES ORANGE
Private gatherings limited to six people, smaller venue capacity, earlier closing time
Quebec health officials saw a spike in the number of COVID-19 infections and decided on Sunday to move three zones, including the island of Montreal, into a state of alert.
The zones, the island of Montreal, part of the Capitale-nationale region, including Quebec City, and the Chaudière-appalaches region south of the capital, turned from yellow to orange on the provincial alert system map.
“Unfortunately, the contagion has amplified in three regions. Cases are increasing, outbreaks are multiplying and our ability to treat the sick is diminishing,” said Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé at a rare Sunday evening news conference.
The elevated alert level signals a tightening of measures designed to slow the spread of the virus.
The maximum number of people allowed at private gatherings has been reduced from 10 to six people, or groups from two families maximum, in orange zones. Bars, restaurants and casinos must now close at midnight and stop serving alcohol at 11 p.m.
The size of organized gatherings — in rented rooms and places of worship, for example — has been reduced from 250 to 50 people across the whole province. In orange zones, the capacity is being reduced further, to 25.
The health minister asked Quebecers who live in the orange zones to reduce their contact with other people.
“Avoid seeing each other. We are not in confinement, but I am asking you to at all costs avoid unnecessary visits,” Dubé said. “Avoid dinners with family and friends and parties.”
He also urged Quebecers to reduce their interregional travel. “Avoid moving from an orange to a yellow zone unless it is absolutely necessary,” he said.
Health officials designed the new, tighter measures to target sectors that were fuelling the spread of the virus.
Private gatherings and organized events like weddings and barbecues had been behind much of the community spread they were seeing, the health minister and the director of public health, Dr. Horacio Arruda, said.
By contrast, bars and restaurants had caused fewer outbreaks and could remain open with the reductions to their opening hours.
Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault was slated to give an update Monday about operation OSCAR, the blitz of police visits to bars and restaurants over the weekend, but Dubé said that despite a few delinquent bars that were not following the rules, most had complied and as a result, the industry could continue to operate.
“We know one thing. If we had bad news with what we had seen in the past two days we would not be making the decision we are taking today,” Dubé said about the bars and restaurants.
Schools, gyms, cinemas and auditorium-style events are also unaffected by the upgraded alert level. Neither sector has been responsible for a significant number of outbreaks, especially compared with the number of outbreaks at private gatherings, parties and events.
“There are cases in schools, probably reflecting cases in the community that get into the schools,” Arruda said. “I'm not saying there will never be outbreaks in schools but actually there are small outbreaks . ... For the moment we will not change things.”
The health minister also foreshadowed a Monday announcement that would reduce the number of visits to people in seniors' residences and long-term care homes in orange zones.
The new restrictions go into effect Monday. They affect the island of Montreal, the entire Chaudière-appalaches region, and parts of the Capitale-nationale region: Quebec City, including St-augustin-de-desmaures, L'ancienne-lorette and Wendake as well as the municipalities of Jacques-cartier, Côte-de-beaupré and L'île-d'orléans.
Quebec added 427 and 462 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday and Sunday. Montreal reported 160 new cases on Sunday, while the Quebec City region reported 92.
The province has increased the number of tests it performs each day, clearing 20,000 a day and nearly hitting 30,000 last Wednesday. But Dubé urged people to only get a test if they had been in contact with someone who had the virus, if they were sick or if public health told them to. More information, including a questionnaire that would help people understand if they needed to get a test or not, was available on the Quebec government's online coronavirus portal, quebec.ca/coronavirus, Dubé said.
Much of the rest of the province is now on yellow alert. Dubé moved part of the Laurentides region from green to yellow on Sunday, including the de La Rivière-dunord, Deux-montagnes, Mirabel and Thérèse-de Blainville municipalities. Two municipalities in Lanaudière, Les Moulins and L'assomption, are also yellow. The Bas-st-laurent region, Eastern Townships, Outaouais, Laval and Montérégie regions are remaining on yellow alert.
Two weeks ago, Dubé announced a colour coding system for the state of alert for COVID -19. The colours — green, yellow, orange and red — denote four stages: vigilance, early warning, alert and maximum alert.
He and Arruda have repeatedly urged Quebecers to follow the health guidelines, insisting that if they are followed, regions can easily return to green levels. They did so once more on Sunday.
“The situation is extremely preoccupying. We are not in a loss of control. We have zones that are passing to orange, which means the community spread has increased,” he said. “That's why we're putting those measures.”