More rules to be relaxed on Monday as Montreal becomes a yellow zone
Montrealers will have a new COVID-19 alert level on Monday and it will be all yellow.
Quebec's deconfinement plan is set to move forward and the change will come with a further loosening of restrictions, a week after the city went from red to orange.
So while Montrealers may just be getting used to dining on restaurant terrasses again and eating in dining rooms for the first time in almost a year, now bars, too, will be able to serve clients indoors, albeit limited to 50 per cent capacity.
“Many of us suffered economic loss that will take two or three years to come back from,” said Quebec Bar Owners Association spokesperson Jean-Jacques Beauchamp. “It's not every bar owner who has a terrasse. Some of us who do have a terrasse did not re-open because profitability was not there.”
There are other restrictions bar owners are facing, such as last call coming at 11 p.m. and doors needing to be closed by midnight. Beauchamp said that's a big problem with the Canadiens in the midst of a playoff run that will see them playing games on the west coast.
“The game starts at 9 p.m., takes roughly an hour per period, which brings us to midnight,” he said. “The third period will not be over at midnight.”
The Bar Owners Association recently wrote a letter to Premier Francois Legault asking permission to stay open until 2 a.m. for the Habs' first two games against Las Vegas. On Sunday, Legault responded by saying “I think we'll have to see with public health... if we can extend these hours.”
Other relaxed measures include permission to hold indoor gatherings between two households or eight people.
Psychologist Syd Miller said that the new freedom will go a long way for some.
“If I'm not particularly an anxious person, if I've never really had many of these issues, then really, just getting out and socializing is therapy,” he said.
But others could be facing some new issues as they enter the post-lockdown period.
“For those who have traditionally had more anxiety and social anxiety, the lockdown has been much worse. Because these were people who were nervous about being out in public, nervous about socializing,” he said. “For them to start feeling better, they're going to need to perhaps engage in some therapy, do some therapy with themselves to overcome what was already a problem before the pandemic.”
The change in alert level also applies to Laval and the South Shore.
Quebec's deconfinement plan currently calls for most of the province's regions to further relax to green alert levels by the end of the month.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.