MONTREAL — Quebecers no longer have to show a vaccine passport to dine out, exercise at a gym or see a movie in theatres as of Saturday, as the province lifted almost all remaining COVID-19 restrictions.
With the exception of mask mandates, all other rules came to an end. Restaurants, bars, casinos and other large entertainment venues are now able to open without capacity limits.
Dancing and karaoke are also permitted once more, and big venues like the Bell Centre will be allowed to have a full house for the Montreal Canadiens hockey game on Saturday evening for the first time in three months.
Marc Michaud, emerging from a breakfast restaurant Saturday in the Montreal suburb of Brossard, said he was happy he didn't have to pull out his phone before stopping in.
“It’s nice to see some of these rules starting to subside. I think people are pretty tired with everything after two years,” Michaud said.
He felt at ease, he said, though he had to wear a mask when not seated.
While masks are still mandatory for now, Quebec has said the rule will lift in most settings in mid-April at the latest. It's expected to remain in place on public transportation until May.
Quebec was the first province to bring in a vaccine passport last September. While its use in the province is suspended, health officials have told Quebecers to keep it on their phones in case it's needed down the road.
Peter Sergakis, who owns several bars and restaurants in the Montreal area, said it would be at least another year before things get back to some normalcy.
"We feel very good, it was about time, two years now," Sergakis said, with issues like a worker shortage and rising food prices due to inflation the main problems as customers start to return.
"We can see the light at the end of the tunnel now, but to make money is going to take some time," Sergakis said, adding, "we can't afford another closure."
Rachel Gendron, emerging from a suburban Montreal coffee shop, said it was a good feeling mentally to see the restrictions withdrawn.
“We need to be careful for sure, there are still a lot of people in hospital,” said Gendron. “It all seems to going fast (dropping measures), but I’m feeling hopeful.”
Also on Saturday, private seniors' residences no longer need to keep a registry of visitors.
And the province will no longer require of people who live with someone who tests positive for COVID-19 to isolate for five days if they don't have symptoms themselves. Other mitigation measures like wearing a mask for 10-days and avoiding places where masks can be removed, are among the new recommendations.
The Quebec Health Department announced Friday it would no longer update its COVID-19 dashboard on the weekend.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 12, 2022.
Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press
