The 28 day lockdown started Thursday October 1st and will last until the 28th,
Premiere Legault announced this week
After months of a threat of a second wave, the
provincial government has finally decided to put
Montreal in another state of lockdown. Especially
after weeks of slinking toward the red, the decision makes sense to most, as it was imminent,
as even the Prime Minister stated in a press
conference earlier last week that families getting
together for Thanksgiving would be difficult.
The areas affected primarily are Quebec City,
Chaudière-Appalaches and of course Montréal.
Exceptions to the new rules
A whole batch of rules have been set in place
for the announced 28 day lockdown starting
on Thursday the 1st of October, but many are
surprised at the rules not present on the current
list, or rather the places that won’t be closing in
light of this new lockdown.
As it will stand as of Thursday, home visits will
be forbidden, unless a person who lives alone is
being visited by a single person who also lives
alone. The other exceptions include visits by
healthcare workers. Apparently, and according
to numerous reports, if a household is having
work done on their homes including maintenance, construction, plumbing, etc., this can be
done but only by a single person/worker. And
interestingly enough, apparently, a babysitter
is allowed in a home to care for children while
parents are away.
Who will be forced to close?
Restaurant dining rooms will be completely
closed. Only take-out options will be allowed
for all restaurants in the affected regions. Bars
will be closed, as will movie theaters and public
libraries. Museums are also included on that list,
and apparently there are no exceptions. Casinos
as well.
What’s different about this lock- down?
Churches and other places of worship across the
city will allow gatherings of 25 people or less for
funerals, as this was not possible in the lockdown
following the first wave of the pandemic.
Community organizations will be staying open,
and while gatherings outdoors are allowed, a
distance of two meters is required between all
people at said gatherings, which include protests.
Masks, as can be figured, are mandatory as well.
And like before, it was suggested that inter-region travel by citizens of Montréal cease as well
during the 28 day lockdown. The biggest difference of all
And schools will remain open, despite the fact
that many sources have blamed the re-opening of
schools on the extraordinary spike in the virus,
dating to the exact time that children returned
to school.
Universities like Concordia have decided to
continue with classes online for the rest of the
fall/winter semester, and many feel that that was
a great idea overall … leading to the question:
Why don’t elementary and high schools do the
same?
Premiere Legault however, felt that a return
to lockdown for children—especially as it was
during the very first wave of the pandemic—
wouldn’t be in the children’s best interest overall
psychologically, and he stated as such at the press
conference held this past Monday.
How the lockdown will affect
local businesses
Especially for our local businesses in Pak
Extension, we know, as we have reported how the
pandemic affected them, so another lockdown
is a pretty scary thing for them all, definitely
worth the worry.
Many other business owners in Montreal
begged to be exempt from the lockdown, specifically restaurants, but as it turned out, the decision was made, and no restaurant was exempt
in the end.
What now?
Of course all that remains to be seen is what
happens next. Will this lockdown spread out
into two months or longer, as it did in the second
wave? And citizens are only left with question
after question, like the one I just posed … and
probably the biggest question of all is: What
happens if the numbers keep going up? What
happens then?
Will schools subsequently be closed in a decision to reverse the growing numbers don’t go
down after this lockdown gets under way? As we
all know, decisions can be reversed, no matter
who has made them, so only time will tell.
We more than understand that leaders (in all
regions) are doing their best to keep a lid on this
without further affecting the children, and we’re
sure that they’ll do what’s best and/or necessary
when the time comes. All else I can do for now is
say to you all in Park extension … stay safe, follow
the rules and we’ll keep you posted as we go.
