A nighttime curfew announced on New Years Eve, which includes a ban on private parties, sparked a backlash from opposition politicians in the Canadian province of Quebec, with a popular conservative ideologue preaching civil disobedience against the measure.
On Thursday (30), the local government imposed traffic restrictions from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. in an attempt to contain the rise in Covid-19 cases in the region. Private parties were banned and restaurants and other venues were forced to close.
Anyone violating the ban may face a fine of up to C $ 6,000 (R $ 26,000). The second largest city in the country, Montreal, is located in this province.
Quebec Governor François Legault told a press conference that containment is necessary to prevent the increase in infections leading to collapsing hospitals. “It is an extreme measure for an extreme situation,” he said.
Legault reported that the number of hospitalizations recently doubled, and the number of healthcare workers who have flu-like symptoms or confirmed Covid-19 and have to take time off work has also increased.
Quebec’s three main opposition parties have criticized the decision, saying it is a sign the government has not prepared, according to local media. Liberal opposition leader André Fortin said in an interview on Friday that if the governor had acted sooner there would have been less need for harsh action.
“No other province in Canada has so many restrictive measures. Instead, they announce better ventilation in schools and accelerated vaccination. But our government has chosen to be restrictive rather than act,” a- he declared.
Conservative psychologist and influencer Jordan Peterson, who has more than 2 million followers on Twitter, has encouraged civil disobedience. “Private meetings are prohibited. The cure is much worse than the evil. Incredible. It is the hour of civil disobedience,” he wrote on the social network.
The curfew is the second in the pandemic in Quebec. The first, promulgated in early January 2021, lasted five months.
The province recorded 16,461 new cases of Covid-19 and 13 deaths on Friday. Earlier this week, he decided to allow health workers who are Covid-19 and asymptomatic to continue working, fearing the collapse of hospitals.
Canada reported a record number of cases in recent days, doubling in one week, to 30,000 new infections on Thursday – a reflection of the advance of the omicron variant.
On the same day, Quebec announced the curfew, the province of Ontario limited participation in concerts and sporting events to 50% of the space capacity or 1,000 people and authorized the fourth dose of the vaccine for the elderly in nursing homes.
Another Canadian region, British Columbia, has canceled all New Year’s festivities, allowing only dining out, but “without people mingling or dancing,” according to a statement.
High cases in Europe
Following the instructions of a scientific committee, Paris spent New Year’s Eve without fireworks or entertainment on the Champs-Élysées.
France recorded 219,126 new cases of Covid in 24 hours this Saturday (1st), the fourth day in a row where more than 200,000 cases are reported.
According to the government of the country, from the second (3), the country’s isolation rules will be relaxed: people who test positive and have the complete vaccination schedule should be isolated for seven days and not ten, as is currently the case.
In England, this Friday (31) the authorities indicated that the fireworks and the light show, canceled in October, would be broadcast on television. The country reported 162,572 new coronavirus diagnoses on Saturday, up from 160,276 the day before, according to official information.
The compilation normally includes Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but this time it was not possible due to the bulletins’ release time on the New Years weekend.
The UK government has asked the public sector to work on a contingency plan considering the worst-case 25% worker absence, as part of a strategy to minimize the effects of the omicron variant.
With the number of new infections rising daily and the need for isolation for at least seven days, the government expects businesses and utilities to face disruption in the coming weeks, according to an official statement.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged ministers to work closely with their respective sectors to develop strong contingency plans, his office said. Omicron’s impact on the workforce in supply chains, utilities and schools is being closely monitored, the agency said.
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