Quebec premier Legault expected to announce relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions Tuesday
Posted February 2, 2021 3:31 pm.
The downward trend of daily reported infections and hospitalizations continued Tuesday in Quebec, ahead of an announcement later in the day by the Premier during which Francois Legault is expected to ease some restrictions.
Health officials reported 1,053 new infections and 38 deaths, including seven in the previous 24 hours. They said hospitalizations dropped by 34, to 1,110, and 178 people were in intensive care, a drop of five.
Legault is scheduled to hold a news conference in Quebec City alongside Health Minister Christian Dube and Dr. Horacio Arruda, director of public health, to announce modifications to health orders that were set to expire next Monday.
Legault had imposed a provincewide curfew until at least Feb. 8 and closed all non-essential businesses across the province for the same period. Since that time, daily infections and hospitalizations reported across the province have declined steadily.
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He suggested last week he was ready to ease restrictions related to businesses but indicated the curfew would remain.
In-person dining, gyms, bars, and entertainment venues have been closed across much of the province since October.
Under the restrictions, anyone who found on the street after 8 p.m. without a good reason will be subject to a $1,000 to $6,000 fine.
Meanwhile, Quebec’s legislature resumed sitting Tuesday, with opposition parties weighing in with their expectations on what should reopen.
They called on the government to ease certain restrictions, particularly in regions relatively unscathed by the second wave of COVID-19.
On Tuesday, chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said national daily case counts are continuing to decline thanks to lockdown measures.
Tam warns, however, that no one can let their guard down because there are signs of community spread of more contagious COVID-19 variants in several provinces, with 148 cases reported so far.
Quebec has reported a total of 264,526 infections and 9,862 deaths linked to the virus.
With files from The Canadian Press
