Protesters against health measures on bus to Montreal urged to get tested for COVID-19

Public health officials in the Chaudière-Appalaches region south of Quebec City are calling on protesters who travelled on two chartered buses to Montreal on May 1, to get tested for COVID-19.

Authorities said Friday that 48 passengers may have been exposed to the virus during the trip.

In a news release, the regional health authority — CISSS de Chaudière-Appalaches — said the buses, chartered by Beauce organizers, departed from Lévis’ Saint-Nicolas neighbourhood.

Those experiencing symptoms are being asked to get tested and self-isolate.

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The May 1 protest, held near Montreal’s Olympic stadium, drew thousands who marched against COVID-19 public health measures which they called excessive and unjustified.

The Chaudière-Appalaches region, one of several regions in the province, has been under stricter emergency lockdown measures for just over a month in a bid to slow the progression of the virus in those areas.

Those emergency measures included shutting down non-essential businesses and online learning for students and an 8 p.m. curfew.

Earlier in the week, however, Quebec Premier François Legault announced that those measures were being lifted in certain parts of the high school students in certain parts of Chaudière-Appalaches region.

On May 10, high school students will return to school and non-essential businesses will be allowed to reopen. The overnight curfew is also being pushed back to 9 p.m.

On Friday, Montreal reported the most new cases in the province with 194; followed by Montérégie, south of Montreal, with 140; and Chaudière-Appalaches with 137 cases.

— With files from The Canadian Press