Quebec announced Thursday afternoon that the number of people allowed at indoor and outdoor events will increase from 50 to 250 people as of August 3.
The new rules apply to performance venues, theaters and cinemas in the province as well as to sports training and matches, for example.
Indoor and outdoor gatherings in a house or cottage are still set at 10 people and festivals and major events remain prohibited until August 31.
This increase in the number of people allowed does not mean that we must ignore health rules, on the contrary. The two-meter distance will be required when possible, and the wearing of a face covering compulsory when this is not the case.
“When spectators are seated, the physical distancing of 1.5 meters will be authorized, but it will not apply to people from the same household,” it adds.
With this relaxation, Quebec wants to breathe new life into a cultural industry that really needs it. “We are enabling the Quebec population to take ownership in greater numbers of cultural places that delight young and old,” Minister of Culture Nathalie Roy said in a statement.
At the Just for Laughs Festival, we are delighted with this announcement, which will make it possible to present shows that have allure
, believes Patrick Rozon, vice-president of the Just for Laughs Group. “To have people laughing and to hear them, it becomes more interesting than having strictly 50 people”, he illustrates.
At the RIDEAU association, a group of professional show presenters, we believe that this is a step in the right direction, nothing more. “100 or 200 people in a 700 or 800-seat room, it is still few people when we know that the revenue share of the ticket office is very important”, explains Julie-Anne Richard, general manager of the association .
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