back to a normal way of life." the government announces new measures for regions in red zones including the closure of gyms, suspension of team sports, and mandate for high school students to wear masks. the restrictions are meant to be in effect from october 8 to october 28. october 6 — the province records 1,364 new cases, its largest increase to-date. dubé emphasizes that residents must reduce social contacts and stay home in order to reduce the spread, stating that "i'm glad that we were ready because of the severity and speed of the second wave, but we cannot control how people react to the measures." october 15 — premier legault announces that trick-or-treating will be permitted in all zones of the province, as long as physical distancing is observed and groups consist only of those living in the same household. october 26 — two days before red zone restrictions are meant to expire, the quebec government extends them for another 4 weeks, until november 23. november screening clinic at hôtel-dieu hospital november 19 — premier legault announces that restrictions will be loosened for christmas. specifically, private gatherings of up to 10 people will be permitted from december 24 to december 27. however, he also announces that restrictions in red zones will be extended to january 11, 2021. december december 3 — the government rolls back their permissions on holiday gatherings in red zones due to a significant rise in cases and hospitalizations at the end of november, deviating from the relative stability of around 1,200 new cases per day that characterized the majority of the month. consequently, holiday celebrations will be restricted to one's own family "bubble", defined as those who live at the same address. an exception will be made for single-parent households and people who live alone, who are permitted to join one other family's bubble between december 17 and january 10, 2021. december 10 — montreal registers a record 648 new cases of covid-19. december 13 — quebec receives its first shipments of pfizer-biontech covid-19 vaccines. december 14 — the first person in quebec and canada gets vaccinated against covid-19. december 15 — in the face of the worsening second wave, the quebec government orders the closure of non-essential stores from december 25 to january 11, 2021, the date on which other restrictions are also meant to be lifted. the opening of both elementary and high schools is delayed by a week, to january 11. december 24 — seniors living in chslds in red zones become allowed to have visits from their regular caregivers. these visits are limited to 1 per 24 hours and caregivers have to book an appointment beforehand. gift exchanges between people who do not live together are permitted as long as they take place outdoors and the participants wash their hands before and after handling gifts, ensuring to maintain a distance of 2 meters and wear a mask. december 25 — quebecers in red zones, including montreal and laval, are not able to hold private gatherings for christmas or new years, with celebrations being restricted to their own family "bubble", defined as those who live at the same address. however, single-parent households and people who live alone are permitted to join one other family's bubble. in orange zones, gatherings of up to six people may take place, and in yellow zones, gatherings of 10 people are permitted. december 28 — montreal reaches a new record of 968 new cases. december 29 — two days before new year's eve, quebec registers 2,870 cases, the highest since the beginning of the pandemic. additionally, the first case of a covid-19 variant in quebec is confirmed. december 31 — by the end of the month, quebec had opened 21 vaccination centres, including five in montreal, where over 6,000 montrealers had been vaccinated, and two in quebec city. 2021 january an empty jacques cartier bridge soon after curfew january 6 — faced with the ineffectiveness of current measures to curb the spread of the virus, legault announces that the lockdown will be extended for another four weeks and a curfew from 8:00 p.m to 5:00 a.m will be in effect starting january 9. essential stores will have to close by 7:30 p.m and those caught contravening the curfew could face fines of up to $6,000, with exceptions made for health emergencies and essential workers travelling for work reasons. people will also be able to walk their dog within a one kilometre radius of their house. additionally, although elementary schools will open as planned on january 11, high schools will remain closed until january 18. legault defends the decision by saying that "the situation in our hospitals is critical, especially in montreal. there are too many visits in homes." quebec sets a record number of daily cases at 2,880. january 9 — a curfew starting at 8:00 p.m and lasting until 5:00 a.m comes into effect in almost the entire province. january 11 — elementary schools reopen across the province. map of regional alert levels in quebec during peak of second wave january 18 — montreal records less than 500 daily new cases for the first time since december. january 23 — $55,600 worth of fines are given out to 36 participants of a party in mirabel, with each fine costing $1,546. february february 2 — premier legault announces that in response to the decline in cases, certain restrictions will be lifted starting on february 8. notably, non-essential stores, hair salons and museums throughout the province will be able to reopen. universities and cegeps will also have the opportunity to gradually return to in-person classes. in orange zones, which currently comprise about 10% of the quebec population, the curfew will begin at 9:30 p.m instead of 8:00 p.m, and gyms and restaurants will be permitted to reopen. february 7 — quebec's total death toll surpasses 10,000. february 9 — quebec's first case of the south african variant is confirmed in the region of abitibi-témiscamingue. february 10 — seven cases of the british variant are confirmed in montreal, in addition to 2 cases of other variants. 35 suspected cases are under investigation. february 11 — minister dubé reveals that only 8.5% of confirmed covid-19 cases in quebec are tested for variants, adding that his government plans to start testing every positive case in montreal for variants by the end of next week. february 12 — the quebec government says it is preparing to accelerate its use of the 2.6 million rapid covid-19 tests sent by the federal government in october, as less than 1% had been used thus far. the tests will be primarily used in places experiencing outbreaks, such as schools or businesses. the same day, the number of total cases in montreal surpasses 100,000. february 16 — in preparation for quebec's spring break (french: semaine de relâche) premier legault announces further deconfinement measures targeted at families with children, including the reopening of movie theatres, indoor pools, and other low-risk indoor sports activities. however, legault urges caution, as the semaine de relâche of 2020 is considered to have been one of the main exacerbating factors of quebec's first wave. february 23 — premier legault announces that the next highest vaccination priority group—those who are 80 years of age and older in montreal and those who are 85 years of age and older in the rest of quebec—will begin to be vaccinated on march 1. reservations will become available on february 25 by phone or online. march march 1 — vaccination of the general population of quebec begins in montreal, starting with the 80-year-old and older cohort. the same day, montrealers in the next priority group (people aged 70 to 79) become able to make reservations to get vaccinated. march 2 — minister dubé confirms that 350 pharmacies in montreal will begin taking appointments for vaccinations on march 15, adding that the situation in montreal with respect to the spread of the british variant is concerning. the director of the vaccination campaign against covid-19 in quebec (french: directeur de la campagne de vaccination contre la covid-19 au québec), daniel paré, reveals that since february 25, there have been over 350,000 vaccination reservations made online. march 3 — premier legault announces that all regions of quebec, except for the greater montreal region, will enter the orange zone on march 8. march 9 — quebec confirms its first case of the brazil variant. march 10 — vaccination appointments become available province-wide for quebecers 70 years of age and older. march 12 — minister isabelle charest announces that indoor gyms and training facilities in red zones will be able to reopen on march 26. outdoor group activities will be limited to eight people in red zones and to 12 people in orange zones. vaccination appointments for montrealers aged 65 and older become available. march 16 — premier legault announces several relaxations of restrictions, including that: on march 17, the curfew in red zones will be pushed to 9:30 p.m. on march 22, students in grades 9, 10, and 11 will be able to attend school full-time in-person in orange zones. on march 26, the regions of gaspésie–îles-de-la-madeleine, côte-nord, and nord-du-québec will enter the yellow zone, wherein the curfew will be abolished. on march 26, theatres and show venues in red zones can reopen. he also promises that by june 24, all quebecers who wish to be vaccinated will have at least their first dose. march 17 — the curfew in red zones begins at 9:30 p.m. instead of 8:00 p.m. march 18 — the percentage of the province's population that has received at least one vaccine dose reaches 10%. quebec surpasses 300,000 total cases of covid-19. march 22 — quebec confirms its first case of the b.1.525 variant originating in nigeria. march 26 — gaspésie–îles-de-la-madeleine, côte-nord, and nord-du-québec enter the yellow zone. gyms, show venues, and theatres open in red zones. religious gatherings are increased to up to 250 people in all regions. meanwhile, the inspq releases its most recent covid-19 modeling, finding that within the next week, the variants will become the dominant strain in quebec. march 29 — minister dubé declares that quebec is now in its third wave of the covid-19 pandemic. quebec suspends the use of the oxford–astrazeneca covid-19 vaccine in people under 55 years of age as a precautionary measure. april april 1 — amid a notable rise in cases, the regions of bas-saint-laurent, capitale-nationale, chaudière-appalaches, and outaouais re-enter the red zone. special emergency measures go into effect in quebec city, lévis, and gatineau until april 12, including a curfew at 8:00 p.m. and the closure of schools, gyms, non-essential businesses, cinemas, and dine-in restaurants. more than 140 cases in quebec city are linked to an outbreak at a gym. april 4 — special emergency measures are extended to the regions of beauce, bellechasse, and les etchemins. april 8 — the easing of restrictions in red zones is rolled back as a "preventative" measure. gyms are ordered to close, although other indoor sports facilities, like pools and ice rinks, can remain open. religious gatherings are limited to 25 people, down from 100. in orange zones, religious gathering are reduced to 100 people from 250 and it becomes obligatory for children in elementary school to wear a mask. april 11 — the curfew in montreal and laval returns to 8:00 p.m., but remains at 9:30 p.m. for other regions in the red zone. april 12 — high school students in red zones return to a hybrid learning model, attending school in-person every second day. extracurricular activities are also cancelled. april 13 — premier legault announces that the special emergency measures in place in the regions of capitale-nationale, chaudière-appalaches, and outaouais will last an additional week, ending on april 25. in chaudière-appalaches and outaouais, the measures will be extended to encompass the entire territory on april 14, rather than just lévis and gatineau. côte-nord re-enters the orange zone after an increase in cases. legault reminds quebecers that non-essential travel to the regions of nord-du-québec, gaspésie—îles-de-la-madeleine, and côte-nord is still prohibited. april 14 — the percentage of the province's population that has received at least one vaccine dose reaches 25%. april 19 — the border between ontario and quebec closes for non-essential travel. april 20 — premier