Faced with the surge in COVID-19 cases linked to the Omicron variant and the alarming increase in hospitalizations, François Legault is expected to announce the return of the mandatory curfew throughout Quebec. A radical measure that would come into force for three weeks, starting this Friday.
According to information obtained by La Presse, François Legault was quite reluctant to go ahead with this measure, already used at the beginning of 2021, but the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, the chief of staff of Mr. Legault, Martin Koskinen, and public health specialists were clearly in favor.
At the end of the week, Public Health asked for "more time" to see the direction the pandemic would take. Four days later, the finding is clear: with 13,149 cases, Quebec shatters a new record, and the 804 hospitalizations recorded on Wednesday - a jump of 102 compared to the day before - show that the hospital system has reached its limit before it quits. 'we do not enact mass postponements of interventions for other diseases.
West Island News reported yesterday at 2 p.m. that there were 16 cases of COVID-19 at the Lakeshore General Hospital, two of which are in intensive care.
The expected curfew is expected to be from 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., a similar measure that was instituted in January 2021.
The government is also considering decreeing the complete closure of restaurants. Public health specialists observe that outbreaks mainly occur among kitchen workers and waiters rather than among customers. Unlike last year, however, "non-essential" businesses will not have to close their doors entirely. It is also expected that the Quebec government will announce a reduction in the number of people that can gather. We have been limited to 6 people as of December 26.
The start of the school year, which had been postponed to January 10, maybe postponed to January 17.
Restrictions will be province-wide as opposed to last year's regionalization of measures.
A press briefing is apparently going to be scheduled for Thursday, December 30 at 5 or 6 p.m.
