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CBC News

Quebec is closing schools, bars, gyms and movie theatres as public health officials race to slow the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant.

Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé said in the face of the variant, which appears to be doubling its spread every few days, the government had to take action to prevent the health-care system from being overwhelmed.

Bars, gyms, movie theatres, concert venues and spas must close as of 5 p.m. Monday. Restaurants will have to reduce their capacity to 50 per cent and limit their hours to 5 a.m.-10 p.m. Professional sports will have to be held without spectators.

Schools will close early for the holidays, shutting down as of Monday evening and returning on Jan. 10. Elementary schools will remain open only for vaccination campaigns and the distribution of rapid test kits. High school students who are due to start earlier than Jan. 10 will move to online learning.

Working from home is now being mandated for all non-essential workers, including civil servants. The provincial government is pausing all ministerial public activities, such as news conferences that are not related to COVID-19.

“The situation is critical. The explosion of cases is overwhelming,” said Dubé in a news conference, appearing from home alongside Public Health Director Dr. Horacio Arruda and Daniel Paré, who is in charge of Quebec’s vaccination campaign.

“Our health system is already in crisis.”

The province reported 3,571 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, shattering last week’s single-day record of 2,768 cases and surpassing the peak of Quebec’s second wave in terms of infections.

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