For updates on Montreal’s extended state of emergency and police measures, Côte-Saint-Luc’s new screening clinic, Quebec’s regional travel regulations and more, see below.
Cases of COVID-19 have climbed to 2,840 in Quebec on Sunday — an increase of 342 since Saturday — and the number of deaths remains at 22.
The Quebec government announced the new number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the province as of Sunday is at 192, an increase of 18. This includes 72 people in intensive care, which is an increase of 15 since Saturday.
The number of negative test results has climbed to over 49,300 and there are currently over 6,300 cases under investigation. Premier François Legault said a total of 58,000 people in Quebec have been tested for COVID-19 so far.
Legault also said the province is in a good position to fight the spread of the virus as they have 6,000 beds ready for patients while the number of hospitalized cases is still under 200.
The number of confirmed cases of the virus in Montreal is at 1,361 as of Sunday.
Quebec’s public health director Dr. Horacio Arruda confirmed on Saturday that none of the 22 deaths in Quebec were that of people under 60, specifying that most of the victims were between the ages of 80 and 89, and two were over 90.
Montreal extends state of emergency, police to fine those not respecting distancing measures
The City of Montreal announced on Sunday it would extend its state of emergency by five more days as the number of COVID-19 cases in the city continues to spike and represent around 50 per cent of all cases in the province.
The city said it however has no plans to place any borough under lockdown, nor close the bridges.
At a press conference on Sunday, Montreal police Chief Sylvain Caron announced that police will increase their surveillance of certain boroughs of the city, particularly the six areas that have the highest concentration of cases: Côte-Saint-Luc, Côte-Des-Neiges-NDG, Rosemont-La-Petit-Patrie, Plateau-Mont-Royal, Ville-Marie, and LaSalle.
Caron said Montreal police presence in the city is currently doubled, with more officers out patrolling and more officers answering the influx of COVID-19-related calls.
The city said officers will be handing out fines to those gathering and not respecting social distancing measures.
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Caron and Mayor Valérie Plante encourage the public to call 911 if they observe situations they believe pose a public health risk, but also if they believe someone is getting abused or neglected.
As of Sunday, the city accounted for 1,361 of the 2,840 cases in the province. Six of the 22 deaths were of people in Montreal.
The state of emergency declared on Friday gave police officers new powers, including closing down non-essential businesses, stopping social gatherings and imposing fines on people for not self-isolating when ordered to do so.
Plante announced Friday that the city plans to open more temporary shelters in the coming days to cope with the reduced number of beds in shelters. There are fewer beds available as shelters seek to apply social distancing measures.
The City of Montreal also announced the closure of all dog parks and community gardens on its territory on Saturday, adding to the long list of public space closures.
Côte-Saint-Luc screening clinic opens to the public
A new Côte-Saint-Luc COVID-19 screening clinic opened at 9 a.m. on Sunday.
The CIUSSS West-Central Montreal’s drive-thru clinic will be open every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and is located in the Quartier Cavendish parking lot at 5800 Cavendish Blvd.
Residents must have an appointment before arriving at the clinic.
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Quebec to control regional travel within the province
On Saturday, Quebec officials said authorities would start controlling regional travel between eight regions in the province, forbidding all non-essential travel to and from these areas.
The provincial government confirmed the eight regions under lockdown are l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Côte-Nord, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Nord-du-Québec and the northern territories of Nunavik and Baie-James.
On Sunday, Legault confirmed the northern territory of Nunavik had its first case of COVID-19.
Geneviève Guilbault, the province’s deputy premier and public security minister, said police checkpoints would be set up on the major highways outside these regions and officials would start controlling all travel as of 4 p.m. Saturday.
She added that this move is to protect the vulnerable communities in Quebec’s more remote locations, as well as limit the spread of the virus within the province and contain it in the areas already affected.
All drivers who get stopped by authorities at the highway checkpoints will have to meet “essential travel” criteria in order to be let through.
The security minister also said the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) police have begun patrolling Quebec’s border with the United States.
— With files from Global News’ Annabelle Olivier and The Canadian Press
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