Thousands of CHSLD residents will be allowed to receive visitors and even leave their residences for the weekend starting Thursday, June 18.
After three months in lockdown, Quebec is authorizing visitors to residences with no cases of COVID-19. The directive from the ministry was sent Thursday to the directors of all of Quebec’s regional health agencies.
Effective Thursday, the plan also allows residents in homes with no virus to go on unsupervised outings or to leave and be in the community for more than 24 hours.
Things are more complicated in residences with the virus. Visitors are still not permitted there, but some outings can be allowed for residents who are living in the cold part of the home and are asymptomatic.
The situations are to be determined on a case-by-case basis.
The decision follows months of little or no contact between residents and their friends and families. Strict measures barring visits and outings were put in place in March when the pandemic started.
And in another development, starting on Monday the two-metre distancing rules for children in daycares all over Quebec are being abolished.
That means children in the same group will be allowed to play together without worrying about keeping their distances, the minister for families, Mathieu Lacombe, said in a statement.
Lacombe indicated public health has also authorized daycares outside the Greater Montreal region, Joliette and L’Épiphanie to move back into full-capacity operations starting June 22.
“Little by little, life is returning to normal,” Lacombe said. “Rest assured that we are taking all means possible to maintain the quality of services at the same time as ensuring the safety of the children and staff.”
The decision on daycares follows pressure from doctors and experts who said keeping children at home confined in some cases causes more harm.
