In addition to ending the curfew, the Quebec government could announce Thursday the expansion of the vaccine passport requirement to non-essential large-scale businesses, has learned The duty.
Three sources indicated that businesses of 1,500 square meters and more are currently targeted by a scenario that would only allow fully vaccinated customers to access them.
This new measure, which could be announced Thursday afternoon, would be in addition to the decision to end the 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew announced during the holiday season to counter the wave of contamination in the variant Omicron.
From Monday, traffic restrictions during these hours would be allowed again, it was confirmed. This decision, which would have received the approval of Public Health, would be taken due to the approach of the peak of hospitalizations, which would make the curfew unnecessary because of the reduced risk of apprehended contamination.
The extension of the vaccine passport to supermarkets would not target grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations.
Hitherto exempted, hardware stores could however be added to businesses which must control the vaccination status of their customers. This expansion would not, however, apply to neighborhood hardware stores whose dimensions are below the 1,500 square meter mark, the equivalent of 16,000 square feet.
Logistics challenge
Several questions remain as to how to control the vaccination status at the entrance of large-scale shops. In addition to labor issues for businesses, the technological dimension also poses a problem as to the means that will be used to validate the vaccination status.
Currently, two vaccine doses are required to have a valid passport. The Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, has already indicated his intention to raise this threshold to three doses when possible.
The Prime Minister Francois Legault called a press conference on Thursday afternoon to take stock of the management of the pandemic.
In the days leading up to Christmas, the government had considered the possibility of imposing a curfew. This option was finally announced on December 30 by Mr. Legault. He then assured that this constraint would be the first to be withdrawn as soon as the situation permitted.
At the beginning of January, Mr. Dubé had expressed his intention to extend the requirement of the vaccination passport to non-essential businesses. He had mentioned personal care businesses, such as hair salons, but according to information circulating on Thursday, that option would not be considered at this time.
Before their closure, due to the most recent wave of contamination from the Omicron variant, bars and restaurants had to require the vaccination passport from their customers.
On the side of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), François Vincent, vice-president for Quebec, was not able to confirm that big-box stores will be the target of further tightening.
This approach would come at a cost, however, and the government would be well advised to financially support the businesses in question, says the CFIB.
“When we put it in place in the restaurant business, we asked that the associated costs be paid for by the government with a subsidy and that the losses be taken into account,” said Mr. Vincent. It would be important that this be the case for the expansion of the vaccination passport. “