As pressure mounts on the government, two scenarios are currently on the table for the reopening of restaurant dining rooms, namely January 31 and February 8, our Parliamentary Office has learned.
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According to our information, at this stage, the most plausible scenario for the return to the table of customers in restaurants would however be that of January 31.
This long-awaited deconfinement stage would then coincide with the resumption of civilian and extracurricular sports, which is requested by several stakeholdersboth on the political side and in the sporting world.
From a reliable source, the date of January 31 for the resumption of sports was already circled in the agenda of the Prime Minister when he confirmed the return of students to class last week. But the green light from the new national director of public health, the Dr Luc Boileau, was still too uncertain for him to be able to mention this possibility.
Crucial weekend
The next few days will be decisive for the future. The number of hospitalizations and intensive care patients and the ability of the health network to emerge from the worst of the crisis will dictate the course of action for Public Health.
This is what the D suggested.r Boileau, yesterday morning, during an interview on QUB radio with Philippe-Vincent Foisy. “If, currently, the trend that we have been seeing for a few days continues, let’s say three or four days, we will be able, at that time, to propose to the Prime Minister a timetable for reopening”, let hover the successor to Horacio Arruda.
“The date will depend on the biggest factor: if the healthcare system is able to hold on and when it will be able to hold on better than at present”, warned the Dr Boileau, saying he was concerned not to play yo-yo with the hopes of Quebecers.
Other possibility
Another possibility would be to wait until February 8 before allowing Quebecers to rediscover the pleasure of eating in restaurants. It is that restaurateurs must be forced to close their dining rooms for at least seven days in the same month to be entitled to financial assistance, we were told.
This is the scenario favored by some restaurateurs, but others would prefer to reopen earlier so they can restock the fridges in time for Super Bowl weekend, which this year coincides with Valentine’s Day.
For the restaurant industry, Valentine’s Day is without a doubt one of the most lucrative events of the year.