There will be no more red on the Quebec map as of Monday, and even some green will appear. Premier François Legault confirms that Montreal and Laval will go into the orange zone on Monday, as will the RCMs of Estrie, Chaudière-Appalaches and Bas-Saint-Laurent.
And since "it is impressive" how the epidemiological situation in Quebec "is really going well", regions will be painted yellow sooner than expected, he announced in a press conference on Tuesday. This will be the case for Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Mauricie-Center-du-Québec, as well as part of the Bas-Saint-Laurent (Mitis, Rimouski and Matane). The passage into the yellow zone allows gatherings inside the houses between the occupants of two residences. It reopens bars and allows outdoor sports matches to be held. Also on Monday, regions will even find themselves in the green zone: Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Côte-Nord, and Nord-du-Québec. Among the relaxation of the sanitary guidelines that will apply, 10 people or the occupants of three residences will be able to see themselves inside a house. Sports matches can be held indoors. Recall that in its deconfinement plan, Quebec has planned for the majority of regions to pass into the yellow zone by June 14, then into the green zone by June 28. During his press conference, François Legault reminded that people must wear a mask and stay two meters apart during home gatherings as long as they have not received two doses of vaccine. Quebec will unveil a schedule for the administration of the second dose of the vaccine on Thursday, by age group. The idea is to get ahead of the operation, since the government wants 75% of those aged 12 and over to be vaccinated with two doses by the end of August. François Legault launched an appeal to young people, 18-40 years old, to encourage them to make an appointment for a first dose. "There are some who haven't made their appointments yet, and you still have a few days before we open for the second dose" in the general population. “There are a lot of places available,” he said. The Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, acknowledged a slowdown in recent days in booking appointments. The "overflows" that occurred particularly in parks, "was foreseeable" in the context of deconfinement, commented François Legault, stressing what other countries have also experienced. “When you open the floodgates, there may be an overflow at the beginning. However, there is no question of tolerating violence,” he said. But he "prefers to see people [...] in parks than in houses."
SOURCE: La Presse
