QUEBEC CITY — With the Montreal area still struggling to “flatten the curve”, the Quebec government has postponed the reopening of businesses and schools in the region a second time. Premier François Legault announced yesterday a revised date of May 25 for the opening, just a few days after pushing back the original May 11 estimate to May 18. “Today we’re seeing that the conditions to keep our initial reopening calendar in Montreal are not met, for the moment,” Legault said.
Mayor Valérie Plante hailed the decision for putting public health first. The municipal government is offering a $5 million package to ease the pandemic’s impact on businesses, including $2 million to subsidize costs of sanitary materials. “This $2 million represents direct assistance,” Plante emphasized. “It is not a loan.”
