STEPHEN RICCIO
PONTIAC Nov. 25, 2020
Premier François Legault is asking Quebecers to abide by a “moral contract” so that they can better celebrate the holidays, requiring that people self-isolate themselves a week before and after Christmas to allow for small indoor gatherings in red zones.
The ban that currently prevents people in different households from . . .
mingling in red zones would be lifted from Dec. 24-27 to allow 10 people or less to gather, if people keep up their end of this bargain. Despite the prospect of a four-day break from partial lockdowns, the regions that were set to expire as red zones on Nov. 23 will remain as such until Jan. 11. Legault announced these changes during a Nov. 19 press briefing.
After considering the idea of extending the holiday break for students, Legault also announced that the province will indeed extend the break, but only for those in secondary school.
Elementary school students will have their break run from Dec. 17 until Jan. 4, while secondary students will finish on Dec. 17 and will remain at home until Jan. 11. The week of Jan. 4-11 will be online classes for secondary students. During the week of Dec. 17-22, online learning will be offered to students of all ages.
As of Nov. 23, the RLS Pontiac was listed as having five or less active cases (minimum one case), down from six last week. The CISSSO began tracking the number of active cases by RLS on Oct. 23, and up until now it had provided the specific figure.
The service area (RLS) includes both the MRC Pontiac and the Municipality of Pontiac (MoP), and it has had 39 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic. The Municipalities of Campbell’s Bay, Fort Coulonge, Mansfield et Pontefract, L’Île du Grand Calumet and Shawville have each had five cases or less (minimum one case). The MoP has had 27 total cases.
The Outaouais region had 379 active cases (3,335 cases, 2,885 recovered) as of Nov. 23, up 18 from last week. This includes 37 hospitalizations. The regional death toll continues to climb, now sitting at 71, up six from last week.
The region also continues to deal with active outbreaks at 12 CISSSO-run facilities: Résidence Cité Jardin, Résidence Château de l’Île, Résidence de L’ile, Résidence La Gappe, RPA Chartwell Domaine Notre Dame, RPA Chartwell Monastère d’Aylmer, Château Symmes, CHSLD La Pietà, CHSLD Lionel Émond, Hôpital de Gatineau, Hôpital de Hull and Hôpital et CHSLD de Papineau.
Domaine Notre Dame is currently dealing with a significant outbreak, with 68 active cases in the facility.
