STEPHEN RICCIO
PONTIAC Jan. 6, 2021
While the Quebec government’s closure of all non-essential businesses is set to expire on Jan. 11, it is anticipated that Premier François Legault will be announcing the status of the lockdown during an evening press conference scheduled for Jan. 6.
Various areas in Quebec experienced continued case rises throughout the holidays despite . . .
the lockdown measures, including the Pontiac service area (RLS), which stood at six active cases as of Jan. 4. The changing of orange zones to red zones throughout Quebec is also set to run out on Jan. 11, but whether these areas, such as the MRC Pontiac, will remain in the red or go back to orange is unclear.
Total cases have increased slightly over the holidays, as the Pontiac RLS count has crept up to 58 from 51 at the time of the numbers released on Dec. 21. Included in those 58 cases are 36 in the Municipality of Pontiac and five or less (minimum one case) in each of the following six MRC Pontiac municipalities: Campbell’s Bay, Fort Coulonge, L’Île du Grand Calumet, Mansfield et Pontefract, Otter Lake and Shawville.
The Outaouais had 491 active cases (4,984 total, 4,374 recovered) as of Jan. 4, which is an increase of 87 cases from the prior COVID update on Dec. 23. There were also 32 hospitalizations, with one person in intensive care.
Since the numbers that were released on Dec. 21, there have been 20 recorded deaths in the region, and the cumulative total is now at 119.
The region continues to deal with active outbreaks at 18 health care facilities: Hull Hospital, Maniwaki Hospital, Hôpital et CHSLD de Papineau, Centre d’hébergement de la Vallée de la Lièvre, CHSLD de Gracefield, CHSLD La Pietà, CHSLD Lionel Émond, CLSC et CHSLD de la Petite-Nation, Campus 3, Manoir Le Buckingham, Pavillon de la Paix, Résidence Cité Jardin, Résidence La Gappe, Résidence Villa des Brises, RPA Chartwell Domaine Notre Dame, RPA Chartwell Jardins Notre-Dame, RPA Chartwell Monastère d’Aylmer and Village Riviera.
