MONTREAL - A ban on private gatherings is now in effect in Quebec and a COVID-19 curfew is set to begin at 10p.m.
Premier Francois Legault announced the new restrictions at a news conference Thursday evening in Montreal.
Legault says hospitals in the province risk being overwhelmed as the number of patients with COVID-19 continues to rise and that hospitalizations linked to the disease doubled in a week.
Legault has also ordered restaurants to close their dining rooms and said in-person classes at schools, universities and junior colleges will not resume until at least Jan. 17.
Places of worship have also been ordered to close, except for funerals which will be limited to 25 people.
The curfew bans people from being outside, with certain exceptions, from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., and Legault says the province will report more than 16,000 new COVID-19 cases today.