Quebec gyms, spas and sports allowed to reopen as of Feb. 14

Quebec gyms and spas will be allowed to reopen at half capacity as of Feb. 14, along with sports and artistic activities for groups of up to 25 people,Premier Franois Legault announced Tuesday.

Gyms and other fitness centres have been closed in the province since late December, when they were shuttered in order to limit the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

Withhospitalizations continuing to trend down and more health-care workers back on the job,Legault saidit isthe right time to lift more measures and to "establish a balancebetween physical health and mental health."

Several gyms across Quebec protested their ongoing closures, with some illegally opening their doors last Sunday.

"We see that people are gettingimpatient, Quebecers are fed up," Legault said at a news conference alongsideHealth MinisterChristian Dub and the province's interim public health director, Dr.Luc Boileau.

Legault said he fears the "disruption of social peace" andisscrapping a proposed taxon unvaccinated Quebecers.

The tax, which was announced in January by the premier, would have imposed a monetary penaltyon Quebecers who did not get their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Legaultreiterated Tuesday that data showsunvaccinated people are much more likely to end up in hospital and are at a higher risk of dying from COVID-19.

WATCH| Boileau explains why bars remain closed:

Boileau explains the thinking behind Quebec's cautious reopening plans

3 years ago

Duration 2:18

Quebec's interim public health director, Dr. Luc Boileau, explains why the province is waiting before reopening bars.

"Unfortunately, we can't go further and announce the relaxation of any other measures," Legault said, adding he's waiting for higher vaccination rates to lift more measures.

"Only 61 per cent of adults have received their third dose," he said."Wehave to increase this ratio. The third dose is very important to protect ourselves against Omicron."

Monday, restaurant dining rooms wereallowed to reopen at half capacity. Cinemas and theatres are scheduled to reopen this coming Monday, Feb. 7, with certain capacity restrictions.

Boileau said decisions are being taken based on the Omicron variant's increased transmissibility compared to the Delta variant.

"Right now, we're looking at phases of [loosening] the measures to make sure that it will not induce automatically a high rate of high-risk contact,'' Boileau said.

"In bars, we have a lot of experience with those places and unfortunately,those are places where risk of transmission of the virus is very high.''

Boileau said he expects bars will be permitted to reopen in the near future as the situation improves and urged people to get a booster shot.

Too soon for 3-dose passport

Last week, Quebec's junior health minister, Lionel Carmant, announced aplan to reach more than 500,000 adult Quebecers who remain unvaccinated. He said addingpop-up clinics, a hotline to speak with health-care professionals about their concerns, and other outreach programswill allow the province to make inroads in the next few weeks.

On Tuesday, the province announcedCarmant also set up a team toidentifyneighbourhoods in regions of Quebecwhere the vaccination rate is lowest in order to allocate resources where necessary. Teams will be going door-to-doorto offer at-home vaccination, or to encourage people to make an appointment.

Last month, Quebec announcedthat the province wouldbe expanding its vaccination passport system to require three doses, but the health minister says it's still too soon to announce a timeline to impose it.

"I've always said that we could not provide a date becausewe don't know when people would have had the opportunityto get this third dose," Dubsaid.

Dub saysonce all Quebecers have been giventhe chance to get a third dose, "we'll revisit it."Currently, two doses are sufficient to be considered adequately vaccinated.

But the guidelines for recovered COVID-19 patients was changed last week, with Quebec sayingthey should now wait two months to get boosted and not as soon as symptoms subside, as previously directed.

Interim public health directorBoileau says everyone should getthe booster shot, but people who have a confirmed positive COVID test can wait eight to 12 weeks.

For those who had symptoms consistent with COVID-19, but didn't have a positive test, "you can't wait to get that third dose," Boileau said.

Reopening is like starting 'from scratch': gym manager

Rozel Gonzales, owner of Energie Encorps, says she is "ecstatic" to be able to teach in-person yoga classes again in two weeks. She has been conducting classes online since the latest wave of restrictions.

"I'm in the business of helping people, not little boxes on Zoom," she said.

Gonzalessays working in the fitness industry has been challenging and feels as though theprovincial government has treated her and other workers "like a yo-yo."

Sari Haj Ibrahim, manager at Roc Fitness inMontreal's West Island, agrees, saying closingand reopening gets tough when you're a membership-based business.

"We almost have to restart from scratch compared to pre-COVID,"said Ibrahim, citing substantial drops in clientele with each closure.

Ibrahim is worried this reopening doesn't signal the end of pandemic lockdowns for the fitness industry. He says another closure would lead to his gym shutting downindefinitely.

"We can't keep operating this way, opening and closing, it just doesn't make sense."