MONTREAL -- The City of Montreal is renewing its state of emergency for five more days. as it reaches 4,775 cases, which means 371 new cases in the last 24 hours.
The city has also reach 74 deaths due to COVID-19. There are curently 259 hospitalizations. There have also been outbreaks at 46 long-term care facilities and 16 seniors' residences on the island.
Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante held a news conference at 3 p.m. to offer an update on the COVID-19 crisis in the city.
Montreal’s director of public health provided the update, saying that with the provincial models projected on Wednesday, the province is expected to hit its peak of cases by April 15 to 20. Montreal’s peak is expected a few days earlier -- in the coming days.
“That means we must maintain distancing measures until end of month of April,” said Drouin, adding that local health workers can expect an increase in the number of hospitalizations in the next seven to 10 days, including ICU cases and fatalities.
Police presence will increase in the coming days particularly in tourist spots like Old Montreal where many non-Montrealers gathered on the weekend.
The executive committee made the decision to continue the state of emergency under the Civil Protection Act, granting the agglomeration exceptional powers enabling it to deal with the pandemic.
Montreal is the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec, with more than 4,400 cases on the island.
The Montreal agglomeration has been in a state of emergency since March 27, allowing officials to mobilize the material and human resources required to manage the pandemic quickly and efficiently.
Infrastructure will also change. The mayor announced that on Mont-Royal Ave., a three-kilometre stretch of sidewalk between Papineau St. and Esplanade Ave. will be widened to allow pedestrians more room to physically distance themselves.
Cyclists will also not be able to use the Olmsted bike path on Mont-Royal Park, which will be for pedestrians only.
