Quebec Premier François Legault announced Tuesday that the 8 p.m. curfew would be pushed back to 9:30 p.m. across the province as of Wednesday evening, although he cautioned against interpreting this news as an invitation to gather with large numbers of friends or family.
All indoor gatherings in private homes are still prohibited, and, he cautioned, it remains important to stay vigilant and respect guidelines.
Three regions were downgraded from orange zones to yellow, including the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Côte-Nord, and Nord-du-Québec, however the government held firm on maintaining all red zones despite several regions posting numbers that would qualify as orange zones.
The premier did announce the loosening of certain measures for red zones, including the reopening of gyms, theatres and performance halls on March 26, provided all wear masks and practice social distancing. Places of worship will be able to have up to 25 individuals gather at one time in red zones as of March 26, with the same guidelines in place for distancing and masks.
Legault admitted that statistics suggest there had been an increase in cases following the March break, however the impact of this has been offset by the effect of vaccinations.
Legault suggested that if all goes well, those 65 and older should be vaccinated by mid-April, and all Quebecers who choose to be vaccinated should be able to have their first dose in time for the Fête Nationale holiday on June 24. Legault was positive about the timeline but noted this would not result in the immediate lifting of all public health measures.
According to the Direction de santé publique de la Montérégie, a total of 101,905 individuals had been vaccinated in the Montérégie as of Tuesday. The regional health authority reports that cases in the region remain on the decline in all age groups except for those aged 0-9 and 10-19, which have increased slightly over the last week. The number of hospitalisations has remained stable over the last three weeks.
There are currently 71 outbreaks in the Montérégie, largely in school and work environments. There are 6 active cases in the MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent, 21 in the MRC de Beauharnois-Salaberry, 47 in the MRC des Jardins-de-Napierville, and 74 in the MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges.
The Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ), which has begun reporting daily on cases of the variants of the COVID-19 virus that are considered to be more contagious, confirms there are 15 cases of the UK variant in the Montérégie as well as 1 case of the South African variant. There are currently 78 presumed cases in the region.