Quebec makes medical masks mandatory in workplaces, beginning Thursday

MONTREAL — Quebec’s workplace health and safety board will require that medical masks be worn at all times indoors in workplaces beginning Thursday.

The new measure announced April 7 will apply everywhere in the province, and the board says it is an additional precaution, along with distancing and physical barriers, against the rise of more contagious COVID-19 variants.

The board says in the case of outdoor work, a medical mask will be required when a two-metre distance can’t be respected.

The masks must be ones approved by Quebec’s standards bureau.

The province announced new restrictions in the province’s red zones this week, with gyms shuttering and places of worship reduced to a maximum capacity of 25 people as of Thursday.

Beginning next Monday, students in grades 9, 10 and 11 will attend school on alternate days in those red zones, with extracurricular activities cancelled.