However, the weather didn’t cooperate much, as the cold weather was rampant. Restaurant outdoor terraces regained the right to open, but many remained closed as temperatures cooled quietly toward freezing as evening fell.
According to Senior Lieutenant Dennis Harvey of the Saguenay Police Department (SPS), that first evening with a trivial enhanced freedoms, according to what he can actually see around 10 pm. Rather, additional forces have been deployed. The call volume was minimal. As for the rest of the region, there was no reporting from the Quebec Secretariat.
When Radio Canada passed through Racine Street in Chicoutimi at about 10:15 pm, many restaurants were already without customers. Some, like Taverne Racine or L’Gros Luxe, were a little more crowded.
The pedestrian movement was rather slow, which was definitely affected by a perceived temperature of 1 degree at that time.
Many people chose gatherings on private land. There were fireworks in Saguenay’s sky to celebrate the event at 9:30 pm, which is the time the curfew went into effect until then.
In Voie Maltée, management has decided to stop selling alcohol at 11 PM, so people can leave no later than midnight.
Photo: Radio Canada / Philip L’Heureux
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Thus, since Friday morning, the Saguenéens and Jeannois are allowed to gather with eight people in the private outdoor spaces or on the balconies. It is also permitted to group all residents of two residences, if the total number of people exceeds eight.
Gatherings, both outdoor and indoor, have been banned at Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean since November 2. The area had subsequently passed into the red zone after a long hesitation. In previous days, the maximum of 100 new cases per day was exceeded. More than 200 cases per day were expected to reach later in November.
Many clients were on Voie Maltée on Boulevard Talbot in Chicoutimi, but the balcony was not open.
Photo: Radio Canada / Philip L’Heureux
The curfew has been in effect since January 9. Then enforced from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., with the exception of essential workers and other exceptions. When Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean returned to the orange level on February 7, the curfew was postponed to 9:30 pm and Quebec was lifted entirely on Friday.
The lifting of the curfew will have a huge impact on restaurants that were scheduled to close at 9 pm. Alcohol is now allowed to be sold until 11 pm.
As for the bars, the stands will finally open on June 11th. The prime minister’s initial wish, Francois Legault, was to have all areas of the province turn yellow on June 14, which would include opening the bars.
As for the police, they will continue to monitor, in particular to respond to calls from people denouncing indoor gatherings that remain prohibited.
Normal hours
It wasn’t just restaurants that would benefit from returning to normal business hours. This was also the case for neighborhood grocery stores and convenience stores. On the evening of the first day of the curfew, Radio Canada received the owner of the Quartier grocery store on Jacques Cartier Street in Chicoutimi, Daoud Bilallah, Farah on Friday evening.
Daoud Bilallah, the owner of the Cartier grocery store on Jacques Cartier Street in Chicoutimi, was very happy to be back to normal business hours.
Photo: Radio Canada
Initially, we had to close at 7:30 PM, of course we lost quite a few clients. But that will be a great relief to us. Usually we close at 11 pm. So clients will be able to come soon after that. There are a lot of people who finish their work around 10 pm. We’ll definitely have a lot more people than before
He said that shortly before 8 p.m.
With information from Philippe L’Heureux