At the metro level of the Eaton Center in downtown Montreal, Anna seems to hesitate. Planted in the middle of passers-by walking briskly in front of the shops and climbing the escalators, she has her hand resting on her bag.
“I have a mask in my bag, but since I did not arrive by metro I am not wearing it”, she explains to the To have to, apologetically. Although the law no longer obliges her to wear it in this shopping center, she does not know on which foot to dance. “I look at the people around me and there are a lot of them wearing it, so I wonder if I’m putting it on or not,” she says, undecided. She finally continues on her way to a clothing store, her face uncovered.
Since today, it is no longer mandatory to wear a mask in public places in Quebec, except in the metro, bus, train, taxis and health establishments. When The duty traveled by bus and metro on Saturday, a certain relaxation was noticeable, but the rule was generally respected.
But it is no longer imposed in shops, restaurants, bars, places of worship, sports centers, performance halls, grocery stores, schools, childcare centers and school buses.
The government leaves the choice to employers whether or not to impose the mask on their customers or employees. At the GameStop video game store at the Eaton Center, the two young employees on site have not received any specific instructions from their boss. But they still decided to wear a mask.
“I prefer to keep it just in case,” says Malik. In addition, we still have sanitary measures, such as plexiglass to separate us from customers, and it will stay a little longer. In the store, more than half of the customers do not wear a mask. “Some people keep it on out of habit, you still get a little weird look when you don’t wear it,” he remarks.
A little further at the Qwelli gelato counter, Marie-Eve decided not to wear it anymore when her employer communicated to them that it was up to the employees to choose what suits them best. “The law has changed, and it’s difficult to work eight hours in a row with a mask,” she explains.
If the majority of customers of businesses that The duty visited on Saturday no longer wear it, some feel safer to do so. “We want to be careful,” explains the To have to Jennifer Chown, an Ontarian visiting with her son. Both are wearing black surgical masks. “We haven’t had COVID-19 yet and we don’t want to bring it back to our family in Ontario,” she said. There is a pressure not to wear it anymore, but our actions must be guided by precaution.
In pharmacies, the situation is more delicate. The few pharmacies The duty visited all required their employees to wear a mask, as they are frequented by a more vulnerable clientele. “We will strongly suggest that customers wear it near the pharmacy counter,” says Kathleen, a Jean-Coutu employee on Sainte-Catherine Street West. “But I’m happy to finally see smiles,” she adds.
Last week, the Order of Pharmacists of Quebec, the associations of salaried pharmacists (APPSQ), owner pharmacists (AQPP), and pharmacy chains and banners (ABCPQ) encouraged the population to continue to wear it in pharmacies.
“The more than 1,900 community pharmacies in Quebec represent a care environment where vulnerable patients present themselves every day. In addition, interventions such as vaccination take place there on a daily basis. In this context and at a time when COVID-19 is still circulating, pharmacists in Quebec invite the population to respect respiratory etiquette to protect patients and staff in order to avoid outbreaks and ensure the continued maintenance of operations and services to the population,” they wrote in a statement.