MONTREAL — Quebec is rolling back the nightly curfew in Montreal and neighbouring Laval to 8 p.m. beginning today.
Provincial officials announced on Thursday they would move the nightly curfew in the two cities by 90 minutes as a preventive measure amid rising COVID-19 infections across the province.
Authorities are concerned with private gatherings in homes, but have offered only circumstantial evidence that a curfew has been successful in slowing the spread of COVID-19.
Quebec reported 1,754 new infections on Saturday — a fifth consecutive day of rising cases.
A nightly curfew until 5 a.m., with hefty fines for those caught disobeying it, is in effect in much of the province under red or orange alert, but starts at 9:30 p.m. in some regions.
The stricter 8 p.m. curfew is also in effect in Quebec City, Levis, Gatineau and several municipalities in the Beauce region, where schools and non-essential businesses are also closed until at least April 18 due to rising cases fuelled by more transmissible COVID-19 variants.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2021.
The Canadian Press