Monday marks the return of indoor sports and recreational activities for groups of up to 25 people in the Province of Quebec. Gyms and indoor golf and climbing centres will be able to reopen up to 50 per cent capacity with masking and distancing in place, and public health restrictions will no longer be required for outdoor sports competitions. Spas and saunas will also be allowed to reopen at half capacity, and public events of up to 5,000 people will be allowed to take place.
The next step of the province’s reopening plan comes on Monday, Feb. 21, when capacity limits will be dropped for stores and modified for places of worship, conventions, private gatherings in rented halls, and indoor public events.
On Friday the CIUSSS de l’Estrie CHUS, the regional healthcare authority for the Eastern Townships, announced that people aged 70 and older and caregivers of all ages who are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 can now go to one of the region’s testing centres. An appointment is still required to get a test, but the two groups were added to the priority list for access to PCR testing.
To make an appointment, people can call 819-791-2526 in the Sherbrooke area or 1-855-244-1548 elsewhere. An appointment can also be made online at cv19quebec.ca.
There were 2,081 people in hospital with the virus across Quebec as of Sunday’s update, nearly 300 fewer than there were at the end of last week. The number of people in intensive care also dropped significantly, falling by 33, to 140.
The province recorded 76 additional Covid-related deaths over the weekend, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to 13,693.
As of Friday, there were 113 people in hospital with COVID-19 in the Townships, eight of whom were in intensive care.
