MONTREAL -- Montreal's state of emergency has been renewed due to the continuing COVID-19 crisis.
On Saturday, the city's executive committee voted to renew the emergency declaration, which was first declared on March 27, until April 22. The state of emergency applies to the entire agglomerated city, which includes the demerged municipalities.
Emergency status grants the city exceptional powers, including in the realm of mobilizing material and human resources.
The announcement comes as the number of COVID-19 cases in Montreal hit 8,052, with 454 deaths. Particularly hard hit have been the city's long-term care facilities, 92 of which have confirmed at least one case of the virus.
Per capita, Cote-St-Luc remains the hardest hit area of the city, with 292 total cases, or 900 cases per 100,000 people. In terms of total numbers, Cote-des-Neiges-NDG, Montreal's most populous borough, has the most cases, with 799. That's followed by Ahuntsic-Cartierville with 594, Montreal-North with 527, Villeray-St-Michel-Parc-Extension with 487 and Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve with 459.
