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HEALTH-VIRUS-CANADA-QUEBEC
Quebec premier orders Canada’s first pandemic curfew
MONTREAL, Jan 7, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Quebec premier Francois Legault ordered the first pandemic curfew in Canada on Wednesday as part of new lockdown measures to slow the spread of a second wave of Covid-19.
The lockdown and 8:00 pm to 5:00 am (0100 to 1000 GMT) curfew will take effect starting Saturday in the province and last four weeks, Legault told a news conference.
“We’ve asked police to enforce these measures,” he said, adding that those breaking the rules would face fines of up to Can$6,000 (US$4,700).
A curfew of this scale has not been ordered in Canada since the Spanish flu a century ago, according to historians.
The more than eight million residents of Quebec, the province hit hardest by the pandemic, will be affected by the measures aimed in particular at curbing private parties and other gatherings in people’s homes, which have been prohibited since October.
Under the lockdown all schools, stores, gyms and cinemas will also be required to close and office workers will be asked to telework, if possible. Schools could reopen sooner than the rest.
In doing so, the province joins Ontario — Canada’s economic engine with a population of 14 million — in restricting people’s movements and daily routines.
Ontario’s month-long lockdown started on December 26, but its biggest city Toronto was shut down in November.
Quebec — and other regions — had been ordered locked down for nearly two months at the start of the outbreak in the spring.
Less severe restrictions in recent months, including a partial lockdown since Christmas, however, failed to contain a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases.
Quebec on Wednesday reported 2,641 new infections and 47 deaths due to the coronavirus. Nationwide, 7,524 new cases brought the total to date to 624,000, including 16,000 deaths.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0822 hrs