Quebec to make masks mandatory in high school classrooms in highest COVID alert areas

MONTREAL — Quebec is making mask-wearing mandatory in classrooms for high school students in regions at the highest COVID-19 alert level.

Education Minister Jean-Francois Roberge said today the new directive will enter into effect on Thursday and remain until at least Oct. 28.

The mask-wearing order is among a series of new public health measures that Roberge says aims to ensure students, teachers and school staff are safe amid a recent increase in COVID-19 cases in Quebec.

The greater Montreal and Quebec City areas, as well as the Chaudiere-Appalaches region south of the provincial capital, are at the highest COVID-19 alert level.

Earlier today, the province reported 1,191 new COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day total since the beginning of the pandemic.

That brings the total number of confirmed cases in the province to 79,650.

Health officials reported two deaths in the past 24-hours attributed to the novel coronavirus, and four that they said occurred at earlier dates, bringing the province’s death toll to 5,884.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 5, 2020.

News from © Canadian Press Enterprises Inc. 2020