MONTREAL -- After retail, construction and manufacturing, Quebec's tourism sector will be the latest to see some major COVID-19-related restrictions eased.

Quebec campgrounds and marinas can reopen as of Monday, when cottage rentals in the province will also resume, Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx announced Wednesday.

Physical distancing measures will be in place at reopened campgrounds, Proulx said; a camping group can be a maximum of 10 people, and they can come from at most three households.

For cottage rentals, only one family can rent a property at any given time, Proulx said, and there must be a 24-hour gap between rentals to different groups.

Outside of the Montreal and Joliette regions, auberges, motels and other short-term lodging will also reopen as of Monday,

No date has yet been set for the resumption of of such vacation rentals in the Montreal and Joliette areas, which have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

THE DAILY NUMBERS

Quebec is reporting 541 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total in the province to 49,139.

Another 89 people have died of COVID-19 in the province, public health is reporting, bringing the death toll to 4,228.

Quebec had reported 614 new cases and 70 more deaths on Tuesday.


As of Wednesday, there are now 1,378 people in hospital, down by 25 from the 1,425 people Tuesday. Of them, 184 are in intensive care, which is up by three people in the last day.

To date, 15,319 people have recovered from the virus.