MONTREAL -- There will be fans, there will be backyard barbeques and there will be screaming people in bleu, blanc et rouge sweaters in the stands Saturday night, as, for the first time in more than four and a half months, Quebec will no longer be under a curfew Friday night.
CURFEW OVER
The exceptional measure was put in place by the Quebec government on Jan. 9 to restrict contact between people to reduce the risk of transmission of the coronavirus.
The curfew, initially implemented from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. the following day, was later extended to 9:30 p.m. before being temporarily put back to 8 p.m. in some areas that were subject to severe outbreaks.
Violators could be fined more than $1,000 for breaking the curfew.
OUTDOOR GATHERINGS BACK ON
Just before 9 a.m., a line up had formed outside of Burgundy Lion in Little Burguny on Notre-Dame St. West, as the pub was serving breakfast and beers.
"I feel like it's just part of this Montreal style of life, you know, going out and enjoying nice restaurants, enjoying bars," said Oliver Walerys, who went to the pub for breakfast. "It's no secret that our city is just a great place to live and have fun and for that feeling to be finally coming back after this year is just something I wanted to share in."
Starting this Friday, outdoor gatherings will be allowed in backyards for a maximum of eight people.
Restaurant terrasses (patios to the rest of North America) are also allowed to open, and may also resume admitting customers throughout Quebec.
Jeff Picard is the manager at Brutopia Brew Pub in downtown Montreal, and the pub will start pouring pints at noon.
He said it'll be shaky, but they're ready to go.
"It's mixed feelings because we all kept assuming that the later at June date was the target," said Picard.
Part of the issue for Picard and other bars and restaurants is the widely reported problem of hiring staff back, who have since taken other jobs.
"It was difficult to try and transition back to service," said Picard. "So many people have retrained and are more interested in low key nine to five and don't want to go back to the night life. A lot of guys are not going to reopen today because they didn't have a plan B.
"Luckily for me, that's kind of my style," laughed Picard. "I never have a great backup plan but I'm always eager to get back in."
HOCKEY NIGHT AT THE BELL CENTRE
Brutopia is a couple city blocks from the Bell Centre that will welcome 2,500 Habs fans back into the arena when the Canadiens play the Leafs Saturday night in NHL playoff action.
It's the first time Cole Caufield and the rest of the Habs and Leafs will be looking at actual human faces and not just banners for the first time since last year's lockdown, as Quebec organizers of stadium events are allowed to accommodate 2,500 people in groups of 250 as of Friday.
MORE RELAXATION MONDAY
Other relaxations will come into effect, but only as of next Monday.
Most of the red zone regions will go orange to start the week, including Quebec City, Monteregie, the Laurentians, Lanaudiere and Outaouais.
In the Eastern Townships, the region will also go to orange, except for the Granit sub-region, around Lac-Megantic.
This means that restaurant dining rooms will be able to accommodate customers, as will gyms.
Secondary 3, 4 and 5 students will be able to return to school full time.
In Montreal and Laval, however, citizens will have to wait a little while as these cities will remain in a red zone until June 7, when the orange zones will spread across Quebec.
All these relaxations are gradually coming into effect as the number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Quebec reaches its lowest levels in over six months.
-- With files from the Canadian Press.
