Bars, restaurants, shops and entertainment venues in the Canadian province of Quebec will have to operate at 50% of their capacity from Monday (20/12) due to a spike in cases of the new variant of the coronavirus, the omicron.
The rules were announced Thursday by Quebec Premier François Legault as part of a new round of pandemic restrictions following estimates that hospitals in the province could reach capacity for COVID-19 patients within a few minutes weeks. Quebec has reported 2,736 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours – its highest daily count since January 8. Legault said health officials are expected to report 3,700 new infections by Friday.
In addition to limiting the capacity of retail stores, Quebec also requires churches and other places of worship to reduce their capacity by half. Worshipers will need to show proof of vaccination to enter.
“For schools, wearing masks will become compulsory in classrooms. Primary schools will reopen on the same date as planned and secondary schools will reopen for face-to-face lessons on January 10, ”said Legault.
Work parties are now banned, as are dancing and karaoke singing in bars, clubs and restaurants. The Prime Minister also reversed a decision to allow private meetings in a larger space before Christmas, with a maximum of 10 people, instead of increasing it to 20 on December 23.
Legault refused to rule out reinstating the curfew. Quebec applies a curfew from January to May.
The Montreal Canadiens professional ice hockey team have announced that, at the request of Quebec health officials, their National Hockey League game against the Philadelphia Flyers will be played behind closed doors. [ka/uh]
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