School kids are in for a treat - Quebec gets a break during the March holidays

The Prime Minister of the Province of Quebec, François Legault, has decided to slightly relax the current restrictions for the March holidays. From 26 February, schoolchildren tired after a long lockdown will finally be able to have a little fun.

What will work:

• cinemas;
• sports centres and swimming pools;
• libraries and museums.

It will also be possible to travel out of town to rent a cabin or stay in a hotel, but only as a single family. It will also be allowed to gather outside with up to 8 people or two families.

Lego reminded that the pandemic was not over, so some restrictions remained. For example, you need to wear a mask and keep your distance in cinemas, and you can only go to sports centres as a family or as a couple with one person.

The curfew will remain in force. In addition, indoor gatherings are prohibited — they will continue to be punishable by a fine. Quebec police now issue approximately 1,000 fines per week for infractions.

"Spring is coming," Lego said, "and we don't want to ruin it, so we have to be careful.

The number of COVID-19 infections is on the decline. Yesterday, February 16, 669 cases were detected in the province, the lowest number in months. Thirty-three people have been hospitalized. Curfew has played no small part in reducing the spread of the virus. Lego believes that, thanks to it, people have begun to go out less.

However, despite the positive news, scheduled surgeries and treatments are still postponed and medical staff are on the verge of exhaustion. If the province's residents don't adhere to restrictions over the March holidays, Quebec faces another outbreak of disease, as it did after the winter holidays.

The prime minister also recalls that more contagious variants of COVID-19 are now emerging. Public health officials fear they could spread across the country. Health Minister Christian Dube says 16 cases have already been identified and 86 more are suspected — mostly a British strain of the virus, and most often found around Montreal.

Director of Public Health Dr. Horacio Arruda believes that the outcome of the holidays is entirely up to the population.

"If people follow the rules, there shouldn't be a new spike in infections," says the doctor. — It all depends on how consciously Quebecers behave. The holidays aren't dangerous — it's the public's actions that can be dangerous."

Arruda added that it is not yet clear whether the relief will be effective only during the holidays or will continue afterwards. Specialists will constantly monitor and assess the situation and only then will it be possible to draw any conclusions. Arruda has high hopes for vaccination to help end this long fight against the virus, but for now, he believes, it is too early to lift the restrictions.