Montreal and Quebec City to go to red alert

During an appearance on Tout le monde en parle on Sunday, Quebec Health and Public Safety Minister Christian Dubé said that Montreal and Quebec City will soon be elevated to red alert for COVID-19.

“I think we’ve reached that point. What we’ll try to do in the coming days, it’s our biggest challenge, to find an equilibrium mainly — I’ll be very transparent — in Montreal and Quebec City, which are the hardest hit, they’re very close to the red zone.”

—Christian Dubé

There were 896 new COVID-19 infections in Quebec on Sunday, the highest recorded number since May 7. Montreal and Quebec City were the regions with the most cases (375 and 120, respectively), though numbers were relatively high in several less populated regions, such as Montérégie (83), Laval (64) and Chaudière-Appalaches (57).

What exactly will happen when a region goes to red alert is unconfirmed (though we have some idea) as government officials said last week that restrictions and closures would be evaluated on a case by case basis. Dubé suggested tonight that the priority would be keeping schools open and maintaining a minimum amount of commerce.

Critics have said that harsher measures should have been taken sooner. The provincial government has been pleading with people in recent days to be responsible and conduct themselves as though they are living in a society. ■

For the latest COVID-19 (Coronavirus) info, please visit the Santé Québec website.

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