MONTREAL -- Terrasses are set to finally open, on Friday, and the curfew will finally be lifted the same day -- but as more restrictions start to loosen, public health officials in Montreal are asking people not to let their guard down.
One thing public health is already concerned about is municipal parks, where small outbreaks have begun to pop up. Out of the 16 community-related outbreaks, nine of them are associated with parks, said Dr. Mylène Drouin Wednesday at a news conference.
"The more we open, the more we have contacts, the more we have to be aggressive in finding those chains of transmission and cutting them down," she said.
She added that the incidence rate has been higher in people 18 to 24 years old in recent weeks than it was previously.
"I think the message I want to say is that even though we're outside and that the risk is lower, we have to maintain some of the distanciation and, of course, do not share glasses or cigarettes or food with friends or people that are not in your family."
The curfew, which went into effect Jan. 9, will be lifted in all of Quebec on Friday.
On that day, backyard gatherings will also be allowed with up to eight people, or the members of a maximum of two households.
Indoor gatherings will still be prohibited and public health is reminding people not to let those backyard gatherings turn into indoor parties. Only on June 11 will people from two different residences be allowed to do indoor gatherings in a private home.
Montreal and Laval will remain in the red zone until June 7, despite some new rules applying to zones of all colours, including the end of curfew.
In Montreal, however, the situation is stable, according to public health, with 169 people in hospital with COVID-19 and 55 people in the ICU.
But staffing numbers are a problem. Sonia Belanger, the president of the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Ile-de-Montreal, said the situation in hospitals is still "fragile," with nearly seven per cent of employees on extended leave.
Right now, one in two Montrealers have had a first dose of the vaccine and in the next two weeks, the vaccination rate is expected to reach 69 per cent, she said.
"Even though we are progressing in the right direction and we can be proud of what we have done for the third wave in Montreal, we still have to be vigilant," Drouin said.
On Wednesday, Montreal recorded its lowest daily increase in months with 96 new infections. However, Drouin acknowledged those low numbers can be attributed to a drop in testing rates, too. She encouraged people not to hesitate to get tested.
"It is important to continue to get screened even if we are reopening sectors. It is even more important to continue [getting tested] if you have light symptoms that are linked to COVID-19," she said.
"We had some outbreaks where it was people with light symptoms, like flu-like symptoms, and they thought it was allergies or they just didn't feel well," she said.
"They said, ‘Well, I got my, my shot so I’m immune.' But it was COVID."
