OTTAWA

Quebec government extending pandemic measures in Outaouais to May 9

Ted Raymond CTV News Ottawa Digital Multi-Skilled Journalist

Published Tuesday, April 27, 2021 3:02PM EDT

Text:

GATINEAU, QUE. -- Pandemic restrictions in Gatineau and western Quebec, including an 8 p.m. curfew, will remain in effect for another week.

In a press conference Tuesday, Premier Francois Legault said that the special emergency measures in force in the Outaouais region, which were scheduled to expire on May 2, will remain in effect until May 9.

While the Outaouais has seen fewer COVID-19 cases in recent days, Legault said the area's testing positivity rate remains well above the provincial average and the region is at its limit for COVID-19 hospitalizations.

"There really is no leeway in the Outaouais region," Legault said in French, adding that some COVID-19 patients in Outaouais hospitals were transferred to the nearby Laurentides region.

The CISSS de l'Outaouais reported 57 new cases of COVID-19 in the region on Tuesday. The region has 650 active cases, the majority of which are in Gatineau. There are 56 people in the region's hospitals with COVID-19, seven of whom are in intensive care.

Earlier in April, the region saw a record-setting one-day count of 290 laboratory-confirmed cases.

The restrictions in Gatineau were originally set to expire April 12, but were extended three times as case counts in the region remained high. As of April 14, the special emergency measures in force for Gatineau were extended to the entire Outaouais region.

Special emergency measures in effect

Curfew in effect from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m;
Elementary and high schools are closed (e-learning);
School-based child care remains open, but only for essential workers;
Educational child care services (daycares, CPEs, family environments) will remain open. However, to limit contact, families are advised to keep their children at home whenever possible, notifying the daycare service in advance;
The closing of cinemas, theaters and museums;
The closing of restaurants (except for delivery and take-out);
The closing of non-essential businesses (delivery and curbside pick-up are possible);
Businesses are not allowed to sell non-essential products;
A limit of 25 people in places of worship;
The closure of indoor sports and recreation facilities, including gyms;
Outdoor sports or recreational activities permitted only with people residing at the same address or by a group of 8 people with distance. Masks must be worn in any group of 2 or more people who do not reside at the same address, unless the people remain seated at a 2 m distance from each other.