Red may be the colour of Christmas, but this year, it's better to be orange or yellow when it comes to the provincial government's colour-coded alert system, which dictates which regions are able to gather for Christmas in Quebec and which aren't.
Those, like Montreal, in a red alert zone, are forbidden from gathering for the holidays and could face up to a $6,000 fine for non-compliance.
However, for the ten regions that are in an orange or yellow alert, gatherings can still take place with limits depending on the zone.
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Government of Quebec
For those in an orange alert zone, gatherings up to six people are permitted and for those in a yellow alert zone, gatherings up to ten.
Currently, the regions in orange alert and yellow alert zones are as follows:
Orange Alert
- Bas-Saint-Laurent, except Matanie, Matapedia, Mitis and Rimouski-Neigette
- Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine
- Laurentians, except Deux-Montagnes, Oka, Pointe-Calumet, Saint-Eustache, Saint-Joseph-du-Lac, Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, Mirabel, the Rivière-du-Nord RCM, the Thérèse-De Blainville RCM, the Laurentides RCM and the Pays-d'en-Haut RCM
- Outaouais, except Gatineau and the MRC des Collines-de-l'Outaouais.
- Nord-du-Québec, except "the sectors of Chapais and Chibougamau and the surrounding areas located on the territory of the Regional Government Eeyou Istchee - James Bay"
Yellow-Alert
- Abitibi-Témiscamingue
- Côte-Nord
- Grosse-Île and the Magdalen Islands
- Terres-Cries-de-la-Baie-James
- Nunavik
It's currently advised not to travel between regions.
If people do decide to gather in the zones where it is permitted, the government recommends a "voluntary confinement is recommended one week before and one week after the time of the gatherings."