UPDATE: Mandatory masks on transit in Quebec

UPDATED May 13, 7 p.m. This afternoon, Quebec Premier François Legault addressed the idea of making masks mandatory on on public transit in Montreal and the rest of Quebec. Meanwhile, as of next Monday, May 18, Uber Canada will require its drivers and passengers to wear masks in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The ride-sharing and food delivery service has already implemented the social distancing measures of limiting the number of passengers to two at a time and not allowing passengers to sit in the front seat.

Yesterday, Premier Legault urged all Quebecers to wear masks whenever they leave home, but public health authorities have not mandated their use on public transit. Legault noted today that the accessibility and availability of masks complicate the notion of making them mandatory, given that 500,000 people use the Montreal metro daily (prior to the pandemic).

“If we need to supply masks to all Quebecers who use the bus and the metro everywhere in Quebec, we would need tens of millions of masks,” Legault said. “On top of that, there’s a legal aspect of it. Not only do we have to supply the masks, but they have to be high-quality masks as well because there’s a lot of different kinds of masks, some protect more than others. We are working very hard right now, we have a team that’s been on it for a few weeks to get companies that could provide us with tens of millions of masks. It won’t be before June 1. We told Mayor Valérie Plante that we’re ready to finance the masks but we need quality masks to be available before even thinking of making them mandatory.”

“There’s many examples on websites and social media where you can very easily make your own mask,” Legault added. This was the second consecutive day that Legault and his team wore masks as they entered the briefing room.

The STM announced on Friday that they had ordered more than 500,000 reusable masks to be handed out to Montreal commuters.

For the latest COVID-19 / Coronavirus info and statistics for Montreal and Quebec, please visit the Santé Quebéc website.

For official info from the Government of Canada on COVID-19 / Coronavirus, including their latest map of cases in Montreal, Quebec and Canada, please also click here.

Additionally, please visit our News section for more updates on COVID-19 / Coronavirus.

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Quebec isn’t making masks mandatory on public transit just yet