COVID-19: Quebec orders bars and theatres to close, restaurants to limit customers
https://montrealgazette.com/news/lo...atres-to-close-restaurants-to-limit-customers
With the number of confirmed cases on the rise and the province grinding to a halt, Quebec continues to plan for the worst.
QUEBEC — Life in Quebec slowed even further Sunday with the Legault government ordering the closing of bars, theatres, gyms, ski hills, sugar shacks, arcades, and pools to impede the spread of COVID-19 in the province.
Restaurants are also being asked to limit the capacity of their business to 50 per cent to maintain a distance between customers. That means keeping only one of two tables open, for example. Fast food restaurants are being allowed to remain open.
And with the number of confirmed cases rising again — the total rose by 18 to hit 39 — health officials are urging citizens to keep at least a metre of distance — two metres if someone has symptoms — between themselves and other people.
But the government wants people to keep working so businesses, shopping malls and office towers remain open, as will public transit. If people can work remotely, all the better.
“I realize very well we are asking a lot of citizens, that we are imposing many restrictions on your normal lives,” a grave-sounding Premier François Legault said at his daily news briefing at the legislature on the evolution of the virus.
“But tell yourselves what you are doing now will save lives. I know Quebecers are built strong and I know we can win this battle together.”
With his government on high alert and the province operating under the strict rules of a public health emergency for the first in its history — Legault ran down the list of reasons for leaving home: going to work, to buy groceries, to go for a walk, to go to the pharmacy, seek medical help or to help people aged 70 or over.
The stepped up measures follow orders issued Saturday where Legault asked people aged 70 and over to stay at home. Quebec also stopped visits to hospitals, seniors’ residences and long-term care centres.
“The worst-case scenario is to have these centres infected,” Legault said returning to the issue.
Responding to criticism that the new measure means family members and volunteers who are helpful in the care of residents won’t be able to visit, Legault said some exceptions are possible, such as if an individual in a residence is near death.
Legault said there is also nothing stopping people from taking a nice walk in the sunshine as long as the distance rules are respected and there is no physical contact.
The same goes for everybody now that movies theatres and gathering places are closed.
“It’s calming and good for the morale,” Legault said.
Legault said the 18 new cases announced since Saturday morning are proof Quebec’s restrictions are necessary. In other countries, the growth in new cases was exponential. In Italy, for example, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 rose from 21,157 on Saturday to 24,747 on Sunday......
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But the government wants people to keep working so businesses, shopping malls and office towers remain open, as will public transit. If people can work remotely, all the better.”
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