`We have two big months ahead,' Legault warns

Premier does not rule out imposing more restrictions here if needed

Don't expect a return to some form of normalcy in Quebec before June 24, Premier François Legault said Tuesday, issuing a warning to youth in particular.“i know you are fed up,” Legault said, addressing young Quebecers who are being increasingly hit by COVID-19. “I was once 20.

I know how important social life and friends can be at your age.

“I'm not judging you, On the contrary, I recognize the efforts you made in the last year. For a year we have been asking you to show solidarity with our seniors. But right now it's your health that is at stake.”

Legault made the pitch during a pandemic update news conference at the legislature flanked by the director of public health Horacio Arruda and Health Minister Christian Dubé.

Off the top, Legault said while the situation in Montreal and Laval remains stable, Quebec has a close eye on them. He did not rule out imposing new restrictions such as school and business closing should the situation change.

“It's not impossible that for these dense regions like Montreal and Laval that we be obliged to go further,” Legault said.

They are also watching the neighbouring regions of Montérégie, the Laurentians and Lanaudière, where the number of cases are also growing. They so far have not seen their curfews rolled back to 8 p.m. as have Montreal and Laval.

Legault said he is very concerned about three regions that became red zones two weeks ago: Quebec City, Chaudière-appalaches and Outaouais. Legault noted that in the previous two days, the number of people hospitalized in Quebec City alone went up by 15.

Cases overall are spiking in the three regions. As a result, he is extending the emergency measures in cities in those regions for another week, through April 25. That means an 8 p.m. curfew while non-essential business and schools stay closed. For the Chaudière-appalaches and Outaouais regions, the emergency measures now apply to the whole region.

The North Shore is also being downgraded from a yellow to orange status zone as of 8 p.m. Wednesday.

“The situation is serious and could continue to worsen,” Legault said, showing his disappointment.

He said he held high hopes that the pandemic would wind down when most Quebecers 65 and up were vaccinated, but that goal is no longer realistic.

The rise in COVID -19 cases in people in their 20s, 30s and 40s has jeopardized the situation.

“I think we can expect a lot of uncertainty for the next two months,” Legault said. “So we have two big months ahead of us. I know it's awful to say this. I would rather be saying we have a few difficult weeks ahead of us.

“We have to resist for 73 more days. I'm counting on you all.”

On Tuesday, Quebec reported 1,490 new cases and 12 more deaths. Hospitalizations were up by 13, for a total of 643 provincewide, an increase of 100 over only six days.

If there was some good news, it came from Dubé, who announced 2 million people have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in Quebec. He said Quebec will start taking appointments throughout the province Wednesday on Clic Santé for essential service workers, including teachers, and people with the highest-risk chronic diseases.

Legault added he has not given up his goal of having all Quebecers who want to receive a vaccine to have at least one dose by the June 24 Fête nationale holiday.

But Legault was feeling the pressure from opposition parties Tuesday over his communication strategy following curfew protests in Old Montreal and mass confusion over new mask rules.

The opposition parties said the government is only giving partial information at news conferences, tending to tuck bad news in separate press releases issued after reporters have left the room.

On the defensive, Legault said when he held his news conference last Tuesday, he was unaware of the new directives from the Commission des normes de l'équité de la santé et de la sécurité (CNESST) stating Quebecers in red and orange zones must now wear masks during any outdoor activities, even if just one person is from a different address.

He insisted the protests represent a small minority of the population.

“The vast majority of Quebecers support the measures,” Legault said.

“I think the situation is under control.”

Later, MNAS in the National Assembly joined together to pass a motion backing public health measures, including the curfews.