Earlier today, we reported François Legault was expected to announce the reopening of some activities across Quebec for March Break and now just a few hours later, he has made it official.
At a press conference late this afternoon, Legault announced that movie theatres and indoor sports facilities will be allowed to re-open in Quebec's red zones between Feb. 27 and March 7.
Most measures will remain in place including the 8:00 curfew but to discourage illegal gatherings, movie theatres would be permitted to reopen (provided physical distancing and mask-wearing is enforced)— and indoor sports facilities would also be permitted to reopen but only with a limit of two people or a family participating at a time.
Outdoor gatherings will also be allowed for up to eight people and rinks will be open for skating, but there will be no organized hockey.
Legault went on to say that families should not share cottages nor ask others family members who live in a different household to babysit children. Instead, he is urging employers to allow workers with families to have a few days off.
Finally, Legault confirmed police would not set up checkpoints between regions. Instead of operating checkpoints, officers will be asked to ensure that the curfew is enforced and that illegal gatherings do not take place.
The news comes as Quebec reports the lowest new count of COVID-19 cases since September, adding 669 new infections in 24 hours.
As of Tuesday morning, there were 9,399 known active cases of COVID-19 in Quebec.
