Quebec will loosen certain COVID-19 measures next week: Legault

Quebec Premier François Legault says the government will loosen “certain COVID-19 measures” next week but that the “majority” of them will remain in place.

Legault says that next week’s announcement will be reflected the following week, February 8, when the province-wide curfew is initially set to expire.

He prefaced that Quebec is “very far from the point where we’ll be able to loosen all measures” and said next week’s announcement would be “regionally-based,” specifically towards Quebec regions that have lower COVID-19 cases.

• See also:
  • Health Canada reviewing request from Pfizer to use six doses per vial
  • Mass immunization against COVID-19 in Canada likely won’t be achieved before mid-2022: report
  • Opinion: It’s unfair that Canadiens players get to bypass Quebec’s curfew

The premier says the curfew is “working well” and says public health knows the “virus spreads in workplaces, schools, and a lot in people’s homes.”

As a result of the situation in hospitals, Legault says it’s “not realistic” to think that we’ll be able to start catching up on the number of growing cases in the province.

While Legault said the situation continues to improve across the province, he says he’s worried about the upcoming March break and is urging people to stay home and not take a vacation.

La situation de la pandémie continue de s’améliorer, mais on doit rester très prudent. On doit penser aux personnes qui attendent une chirurgie. Suivez notre point de presse en direct : https://t.co/MJZiucZOVe

— François Legault (@francoislegault) January 28, 2021

“I’m not trying to be unpleasant,” he continued. “It is urgent that we take one of two possible solutions — forbid non-essential travel or make quarantine mandatory for all travellers who return to Quebec from abroad.”

Legault also said that March 11 would become a provincewide day to commemorate all the COVID-19 victims since the pandemic began.

“We want to offer our sympathies to all the families,” he said. “Behind the numbers, there are people and families who have lost members and a good reason for us to continue our efforts.”