Quebec Private Gathering Legal Limits Are Ending & Becoming Recommendations Instead

As of Saturday, February 12, there will be no more legal limits to private Quebec gatherings. Instead, public health is maintaining a recommendation that Quebecers limit their private gatherings to 10 people or three household bubbles.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Premier François Legault admitted this was a "big change." Currently, private gatherings are limited to two households or four people from multiple households.

In discussions between the government and public health, he said, "We're saying more and more that we have to learn to live with the virus."

It's up to every resident to "evaluate their own risks," he continued.

Also as of Saturday, restaurants will be able to sit single parties consisting of up to 10 people or three households.

For the first time in 2022, the premier said he's presenting a more long-term reopening plan.

Until now, the government has only offered short bursts of reopenings spread across weeks. Quebec restaurants reopened at 50% capacity on January 31. Theatres and concert halls followed on February 7, and gyms and spas will reopen on February 14.

Public health and government officials had initially resisted calls to present a full reopening calendar, citing high numbers of COVID-19 hospitalizations. But the government has been under increased pressure to give the public some clarity.

On Sunday, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante suggested a comprehensive reopening plan was crucial for the survival of the city's entertainment and tourism industries. She said the provincial government's "vagueness" was "intolerable."

"Montreal is a city rich in events: tours, festivals, conventions and large-scale shows," the mayor wrote on Facebook. "For it to remain so, event organizers must have clear directions from the Quebec government and Public Health in order to plan for the full reopening of their activities."