COVID-19: Almost all of the Laurentians go into the red zone, including Saint-Sauveur, Sainte-Adèle and Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts

The MRCs of Pays-d’en-Haut and Laurentides turn red

Saint-Jérôme, December 11, 2020 – As announced today, two new MRCs in the Laurentides health region, the MRC des Pays-d’en-Haut and the MRC des Laurentides, are now at the red level of the COVID alert and surveillance system. -19. The Laurentian Integrated Health and Social Services Center (CISSS) would like to tell the population of these RCMs what this means and what measures will consequently be put in place to slow the transmission of the virus.

The measures associated with this change of zone will come into force on Monday, December 14, from 12:01 a.m. However, those concerning the school and sports environment will come into force on December 17. These same measures have been in effect for several weeks in the MRCs of La Rivière-du-Nord, Thérèse-De Blainville, Deux-Montagnes and in the City of Mirabel.

Remember that level 4 – Maximum alert (red) involves more restrictive measures that can go as far as stopping non-essential activities for which the risk cannot be sufficiently controlled.

The alert levels are established by following the recommendations of the public health authorities who carry out a regular analysis of the situation taking into account the epidemiological situation, the control of transmission and the capacity of the healthcare system. In the MRCs of Pays-d’en-Haut and Laurentides, this decision can be explained in particular by the increasingly sustained community transmission. For a week, the number of cases has been steadily increasing.

“The rapid development of the situation in these sectors over the past few days leaves us no choice to increase health measures by going to the maximum alert level. By limiting your contacts and reducing your activities, it will be possible to regain control over the situation. I ask for your collaboration since compliance with sanitary measures will be decisive for the rest of things, ”explains Dr. Éric Goyer, regional director of public health for the Laurentians.

For the population and businesses in these sectors, achieving the red level corresponds to the implementation of the following measures:

• Private gatherings indoors or outdoors are prohibited;
• It is not recommended to move from one area to another when you live in a red zone. Essential travel (eg: workers, students, shared guards, transport of goods) are authorized;
• Closure of restaurants and food courts, shopping centers and food stores, except for deliveries, take-out or drive-through orders;
• Closure of bars and nightclubs;
• Closure of saunas and spas, with the exception of personal care provided there;
• Closure of libraries other than those run by educational institutions, with the exception of loan counters;
• Closure of cinemas and venues where performing arts are presented, including venues;
• Closure of physical training rooms;
• Closure of any indoor place, other than a private residence or what takes its place, when it is used for the purpose of holding an event or social activity.

CHSLDs and private seniors’ residences (RPA)

• Visits for humanitarian purposes.
• Visits by family caregivers (1 person at a time, and a maximum of 2 people per day in CHSLDs).

Preschool, elementary and secondary

• Extracurricular activities suspended.
• School trips and inter-school activities suspended.
• Attendance in class every other day for students of 3^e, 4^eand 5^esecondary.

Leisure and sport

• No organized physical, sport or leisure activity permitted.
• Activities carried out in free practice, individually or in pairs, authorized in compliance with health instructions.
• Indoor sports facilities allowed to open for free practice, but access to changing rooms not allowed, except for toilets. The changing rooms may however remain open for access to free swimming and to sports-study activities and sports concentrations.
• The number of people present is determined by the site managers according to the capacity of the infrastructure and must allow the strict application of distancing measures and the absence of contact between people.
• No competition or spectator allowed. However, while reducing the number of people to a minimum, it may be possible to authorize an accompanying person when necessary (eg the parent of a child under 10 or the accompanying person of a person with a disability).

Remember that for the Antoine-Labelle and Argenteuil RCMs, the orange tier measures are still in effect. To find out the health measures applicable according to the alert level, visit the Quebec.ca website.

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