Quebec considers temporarily closing schools as COVID-19 cases climb

The Quebec government is looking into the possibility of temporarily closing schools as provincial COVID-19 case numbers continue to climb.

Premier François Legault said at Thursday’s pandemic briefing that more than 300 classrooms had to close in the last two days.

Legault stressed closing schools is the “last thing” the government wants to do.

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The premier said the situation has become “worrying” in Quebec and is weighing the possibility of keeping schools closed for a finite period of time before or after the Christmas holidays.

Legault said schools are “a place of transmission” and said closing schools again would be the government’s “last solution.”

Jusqu’à maintenant, au Québec, on s’en sort beaucoup mieux qu’ailleurs contre la deuxième vague. Mais chaque jour qui passe nous pousse à plus de prudence. Suivez notre point de presse en direct : https://t.co/2oDWjNfaPy

— François Legault (@francoislegault) November 12, 2020

The government is in discussion with provincial school unions to see if classes could continue into the summer of 2021 for students to stay caught up.

Legault said it would be “unthinkable” not to consider all possible scenarios when it comes to the pandemic.

Quebec has seen a surge in cases over the past few weeks and reported over 1,300 in the past two consecutive days.

The next few weeks will be “critical,” according to Legault. “We see that our numbers are starting to increase. We need to protect our health system and we need to do that in order to be able to treat everyone and save lives,” he said.

When asked by reporters if the government would consider closing all businesses again, Legault declined to comment.