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A runner, wth his face and eyes covered, runs past a Montreal police car in Mont Royal park, Saturday April 4, 2020. Though some medical authorities say that face coverings can help to prevent the coronavirus spread, leaders in Quebec caution that they must not replace physical distancing and hand-washing.
Phil Carpenter/ Global News
Thursday marks one month since the Quebec government started implementing restrictions, in what some are calling the “COVID lockdown,” to help slow the COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed more than 200 lives in Montreal as of April 15.
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The first phase of the restrictions came into effect on March 16 after Premier François Legault ordered the closure of all schools in the province, from daycares to universities.
A cyclist wearing a mask rides past the Roddick Gates entrance to an empty McGill University campus on Sherbrooke Street in downtown Montreal, Monday March 23, 2020. Phil Carpenter/Global News.
Other measures were gradually introduced, and a week later, all non-essential businesses were ordered shuttered as Quebec residents were asked to self-isolate at home.
A man walks past a closed Sports Experts store on Ste-Catherine Street in downtown Montreal, Monday March 23, 2020, after all non-non-essential businesses were ordered shuttered. Phil Carpenter/Global News.
The entrance to a McDonald’s at St-Laurent Boulevard and Notre-Dame Street in Old Montreal restaurant is closed off with “caution” tape, Tuesday March 24, 2020. Phil Carpenter/Global News.
Legaut called the action “putting Quebec on pause.”
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It was a move meant to make it easier to implement a physical distancing protocol, by asking people to keep two metres apart in public in a bid to prevent the transmission of the virus.
A man in a wheelchair crosses a deserted René-Lévesque Boulevard, at St-Laurent Boulevard in downtown Montreal, Sunday March 22, 2020. Phil Carpenter/Global News.
The measures resulted in deserted streets, school campuses, places of worship and most public spaces in the city.
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A cyclist rides alone south on Robert Bourassa Boulevard, Saturday April 4, 2020, as streets remain largely empty as people self-isolate at home. Phil Carpenter/Global News.
People have continued to venture out, but some aren’t following social distancing rules.
As a result, access to certain parks has been restricted and police are now enforcing the protocol by fining violators up to $1,000.
Park goers gather in pairs as they observe physical distancing protocol while visiting the Belvedere at Mont Royal Park, Sunday April 4, 2020. The following day the parking lot to the area was closed to dissuade visitors. Authorities said too many people were coming from outside the area, leading to crowding at the park. Phil Carpenter/Global News.
A Montreal police officer looks at a pair of visitors at Mont Royal Park, Saturday April 4, 2020. Phil Carpenter/Global News.
To manage the pandemic, the provincial government made a big push to screen for the virus, aiming to have as many as 6,000 tests conducted daily.
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A technician prepares to insert a swab into the nose of a woman as she is tested for COVID-19 at a drive-through, appointment-only testing site at the Cavendish Mall in Côte Saint-Luc, Tuesday March 31, 2020. Phil Carpenter/Global News.
With that in mind special test clinics were set up on the island, including one outdoor testing site at Place des Festivals, next to Place des Arts, and two drive-through clinics, in addition to other sites.”
A technician prepares a nasal swab to test a patient for COVID-19 at a drive-through, appointment-only testing site at the Cavendish Mall in Côte Saint-Luc, , 2020. Sunday March 29, 2020. Phil Carpenter/Global News.
With the tests more than 14, 000 infections have been discovered in the province, including almost 7,000 in the Montreal region so far.”
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Two adults and a child, all wearing masks, walk towards a COVID-19 screening site in the Quartier des Festivals, Monday March 23, 2020. Phil Carpenter/Global News.
As people became more afraid of catching the disease, the debate about wearing masks to help stop the virus intensified.
A woman wears a scarf over her nose while waiting to get tested at a COVID-19 screening clinic, Monday March 23, 2020. Phil Carpenter/Global News.
The practice was originally discouraged by Quebec health authorities.
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A client wears a mask as he waits in line at the SQDC store on Ste-Catherine Street, Tuesday March 24, 2020. Phil Carpenter/Global News.
Though they still don’t recommend it, they do concede that some kind of mask could help prevent virus transmission, but caution that the face coverings should not be a substitute for physical distancing and handwashing.
A man wearing a surgical mask leaves an Adonis supermarket on Ste-Catherine Street, Saturday April 4, 2020, as other clients wait in line to enter. To prevent crowding inside stores, customers to wait outside to be called in. Phil Carpenter/Global News.
Now even clothing stores have masks on sale.
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Two women look at face masks at clothing store on St-Laurent Boulevard in Montreal, Saturday April 4, 2020. Phil Carpenter/Global News.
With seniors making up most of the COVID-19 fatalities in the province, concern has now focused on how people in eldercare residences should have been, and can be, protected.
Paramedics move a patient to an ambulance at the Maison Herron seniors’ residence in Dorval, Friday April 10, 2020, after an outbreak of COVID-19 cases at the facility. Phil Carpenter/Global News.
The virus has been tearing through Quebec seniors’ residences and some are now under scrutiny.
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One in Dorval, where there has been 31 fatalities in three weeks, is the subject of three investigations including a police probe.
Five of the deaths have been confirmed as COVID-19-related.
A woman carries a placard protesting the number of deaths at the Maison Herron seniors’ residence in Dorval, Saturday April 11, 2020. Phil Carpenter/Global News.
Funeral home workers remove a body from the Maison Herron seniors’ residence in Dorval, Saturday April 11, 2020. Phil Carpenter/Global News.
Despite the challenges, the Legault government believes the peak of the infections is imminent.
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Earlier this week, several businesses were added to the list of essential services including mechanics, garden centres, residential construction and mining.
While many sectors of the Quebec economy remain at a standstill, there is talk of a gradual reopening of businesses.
In Montreal, Mayor Valérie Plante has a plan to start relaunching the economy in May.