The Quebec government is extended the province’s mask mandate into mid-May.
On Thursday during a press conference from Montreal, Dr. Luc Boileau, Quebec’s interim director of public health, provided an update on the province’s COVID-19 situation and announced the mask mandate will be extended for “two more weeks.”
Without providing a firm date on when the mask mandate will be lifted, Boileau cited hospitalizations, a high case count, and expert projections as the reason for extending the mask mandate across Quebec.
Initially, the Quebec government announced it will lift the mask mandate — which has been in place for nearly two years — on April 15. At the beginning of the month, the government announced it would push it back to “the end of April.”
Quebec is the last province in Canada to enforce a mask mandate.
- You might also like:
- Canada's inflation rate spikes to 6.7%, hitting 31-year high
- "Please forgive me": Canada-born actor apologizes after darkening skin to portray role of Filipina worker
- Quebec transport ministry accidentally links to website selling Viagra
In his first announcement since before the Easter holidays, Boileau says there’s “relatively good news,” and says the COVID-19 virus has plateaued in Quebec and that cases have been “slowing down.”
He wants to wait “a few more days” before commenting more on the province’s COVID-19 case predictions but says the total number of new hospitalizations is “encouraging.”
Earlier in March, the government announced a flurry of modifications to the province’s COVID-19 public health guidelines, including the abolishing of the vaccine passport, customer capacities, the reopening of restaurants, bars, gyms, and venues, and the restart of competitive sports.
The government teased that masks would be removed “by the latest mid-April,” without giving a firm date.
The mask mandate is in effect for all public places and aboard public transit across Quebec.