COVID-19 pandemic in Montreal

The COVID-19 pandemic in Montreal is part of an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Until April 2021, Montreal was the worst affected health region in Canada.^[3][4] Despite being surpassed by Toronto in total number of cases, Montreal still has the highest total death count and the highest death rate in Canada, with the death rate from COVID-19 being two times higher on the island of Montreal than in the city of Toronto due in large part to substantial outbreaks in long-term care homes.^[3] Montreal is Canada's second most populous city, the largest city in Quebec, and the eighth most populous city in North America.

Montreal confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on February 27, 2020. The patient was a 41-year-old woman who had returned from Iran three days earlier on a flight from Doha, Qatar.^[5][6]

In early March 2020, the closure of public spaces, including stores, gyms, shopping malls, and schools, began. On March 27, with nearly 1,000 confirmed cases,^[3] Montreal declared a state of emergency.^[7] The first wave of COVID-19 lasted until early summer, at which point the economy started to gradually reopen, with daily case counts dropping into the double digits.^[8] In September 2020, facing the possibility of a second wave, the Quebec government announced a colour-coded alert level system made up of four zones (green, yellow, orange, and red), with restrictions being least severe in green zones and most severe in red zones. On September 30, Montreal was placed in the red zone.^[9]

Over the next few months, the second wave continued to worsen, prompting renewed closures and eventually, a province-wide lockdown, which came into effect on December 25 (Christmas Day). On January 9, a curfew came into effect.^[1] The lockdown ended a month later, allowing for non-essential businesses to reopen.^[10]

In December 2020, the vaccination campaign began, starting with residents of long-term care homes and healthcare workers.^[11] On March 1, 2021, only a year after the arrival of the pandemic, mass vaccination of the general population began.^[12]

At the end of March 2021, as the second wave was dying down, some restrictions were lifted, including the closure of gyms, theatres, and show venues. Not even two weeks later, the reopening was reversed due to a third wave driven by the Alpha variant.^[13][14] However, unlike the first and second waves, Montreal and its surrounding areas were not the hotspot of the province during the third wave, managing to endure it with only a minimal to non-existent rise in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. Towards the end of May, with over 50% of the island's population vaccinated with at least one dose, restrictions started to gradually lift, with the curfew ending on May 28 in all regions of Quebec.^[15] On June 7, after about eight months in the red zone, Montreal moved into the orange zone, allowing gyms and dine-in restaurants to open,^[16] and on June 14, they moved into the yellow zone, allowing bars to reopen.^[17][18] Finally, on June 28, Montreal moved into the zone with the fewest restrictions, the green zone.^[19][20] Two months later, Montreal ended its state of emergency.^[21]

With the rise of the Omicron variant, the Quebec government reintroduced province-wide restrictions in December 2021, forcing gyms, restaurants, and other establishments to close, despite the vaccine passport requirement in these settings and a high vaccination rate in Montreal.^[22] During the first two weeks of 2022, Montreal was subject to a contentious curfew^[23] from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.^[24] Restrictions began to loosen in February 2022, and by mid-March, almost all COVID-19 measures in Montreal had been lifted, with the notable exception of the mask mandate.^[25] Finally, on May 14, 2022, the mask mandate for most indoor spaces was lifted.^[26]

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