After being ordered to wear masks inside public places for 665 days, or nearly two years, Quebecers will no longer be required to wear them starting midnight tonight, except on public transportation and health care facilities.
However, it continues to be recommended by public health to protect against COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses.
The decision to no longer impose masks on indoor public areas was announced on May 4 after it was twice postponed by the Legault government due to the high number of hospitalizations and cases of infection in the population leaving Winter.
But this time it seems right …
All indicators monitored by public health dropped (deaths, infections, hospitalizations, positive rates, absences from the health network and schools), Quebec’s acting national director of public health, Dr. Luc Boileau, confirmed on Wednesday that the sixth wave of COVID-19 will actually end in Quebec.
From midnight one minute tonight, the mask does not need to be worn in restaurants, cinemas, bars, places of worship, sports centers, gyms, but also in schools, health centers early childhood as well as in school transportation .
However, not the end of the mask
At a press conference this week, however, Dr. reiterated. Luc Boileau in some instances that the removal of the forced wear of the face mask does not mean its removal. And even when the pandemic was over, he hammered.
This is why wearing the mask will remain mandatory until further notice on public transport as well as in all health establishments including medical clinics, RPA and CHSLD.
Also, all people who wish to continue to wear a face mask to protect themselves and others are invited to do so by public health, starting with the elderly, people who are sick, immunosuppressed or where the condition of health exposes you to more medical complications.
Quebecers are also invited to respect those who continue to wear the mask, but also those who decide not to.
After 22 months …
Typically, it is close to two years, exactly 665 days, that Quebecers are required to wear face masks in public indoor.
The measure, accompanied by fines ranging from $ 400 to $ 6,000 for offenders, took effect on July 18, 2020, at the behest of the Legault government, which was then under considerable media and political pressure.
The wear of the mask has been maintained since despite its abandonment in most of the country’s provinces in recent months. The announcement of its lifting is eagerly awaited in Quebec, especially since it has been postponed twice. It was first implemented on April 5, before being postponed by the authorities to April 21 and finally May 14.
Source: Radio-Canada
