Most of Quebec’s COVID-19 mask mandates end Saturday

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Masks will remain mandatory on public transport and in medical centers such as hospitals, clinics and long-term care centers.

Publishing date:

May 13, 2022 • 2 hours ago • 2 minute read

Danielle Séguin shops for plants at Les Serres Jacques Wilson et Fils in Pointe-Claire Village May 9, 2022.
Danielle Séguin shops for plants at Les Serres Jacques Wilson et Fils in Pointe-Claire Village May 9, 2022. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette

With the exception of public transport and health-care centers such as hospitals, medical clinics and long-term care centers, it will no longer be mandatory to wear a face mask indoors in public buildings in Quebec as of 12:01 am Saturday.

The lifting of the mandatory mask mandates was announced May 4 by Quebec’s interim public health director Dr. Luc Boileau.

Boileau said the mandatory mask wearing will no longer be necessary in schools, daycare centers and school transport.

However, wearing a mask remains recommended for people considered vulnerable, such as the elderly and those with medical conditions that could place them at risk.

The Association des Patients Immunodéficients du Québec expressed concerns Friday about the mandates coming to an end, noting that those with weakened immune systems must continue to take precautions to avoid serious or fatal consequences. The Association is calling upon the public to accommodate those individuals.

The mandates were ended after COVID-19 indicators — case numbers, hospitalizations and number of infected medical staff — continued to trend downward.

Quebec’s public health system is preparing for a seventh wave of coronavirus this autumn.

Dr. Jean Longtin, a microbiologist at the CHU de Québec-Université Laval, said recently that Quebec is not immune from a new variant of the virus and health authorities will then have to ask the same questions posed during previous waves of infection concerning the efficacy of vaccines and natural immunity. He expects another vaccination campaign will be necessary at that point.

Boileau has said Quebec will do all it can to avoid reimposing coercive health regulations. He said he expects people will instinctively take protective measures if they find themselves in a situation that requires it.

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