The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in the province of Quebec.
2020
February
February 27 – The province of Quebec confirms its first case of COVID-19. The patient is a 41-year-old woman who had returned to Montreal from Iran three days earlier on a flight from Doha, Qatar.
March March 3 – Quebec's first COVID-19 patient is transferred to the Jewish General Hospital and released the next day.
March 10 – Montreal declares the city to be in "alert mode." Internal measures to ensure the resilience of services offered to the public are put in place.
March 12 – With 17 cases now confirmed, Premier François Legault announces that the province will ban indoor gatherings of more than 250 people, and that government workers, health care professionals, and teachers returning from international travel will be required to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival. He also advises residents who are experiencing flu-like symptoms, or who have recently returned from international travel, to self-isolate. Loto-Québec closes the Montreal Casino.
March 13 – Following the announcement of restrictions on public gatherings by Premier Legault, precautionary cancellations of public events and facilities begin to emerge province-wide. Additionally, the Mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, announces the closure of 34 public arenas, 45 public libraries, 48 indoor pools, the Montreal Botanical Garden and the Planetarium. François Legault, Premier of Quebec, announces the closure of schools, CEGEPs and universities until March 30.
March 14 – Premier Legault officially declares a public health emergency, lasting at least ten days. This measure grants him powers under the Public Health Act to enforce mitigation measures. He also announces that the province will prohibit visits to hospitals and long-term care facilities. Citizens over the age of 70 should avoid leaving their homes.
March 15 – Premier Legault orders the closure of various recreational and entertainment venues, including, but not limited to, bars, cinemas, gyms, pools, and ski hills. Restaurants were also ordered to reduce their capacity by half and enforce physical distancing. Frustrated by the inaction of the federal government, the public health director and the Mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, dispatches employees to Montréal–Trudeau International Airport to advise travellers arriving from international destinations to self-isolate for 14 days.
March 16 – Montreal's Public Health Department dispatches dozens of employees to Montréal-Trudeau Airport to ask travelers to self-isolate for 14 days.
March 19 – Minister of Health and Social Services Danielle McCann suspends orders made by the Court of Quebec that allowed children under the Director of Youth Protection (CDPDJ) to maintain physical contact with their biological parents. On the same day, it was announced that Quebec residents in isolation or quarantine who are not covered by any benefits may apply for $573 per week of financial aid for a maximum of 14 days. The government also announces that it will extend the income tax filing deadline, and inject $2.5 billion into companies suffering liquidity problems due to the pandemic. Quebec citizens are asked not to travel between regions. Physical distancing measures increased residential electricity demand by 2.3% and lowered commercial demand by 3.1% from March 13 to March 19, according to a Hydro-Québec spokesman.
March 20 – The government extends Quebec's public health emergency for at least 10 more days. Indoor gatherings are prohibited and outdoor gatherings are allowed as long as a distance of two metres is kept between participants. The majority of trials at the Municipal Court of Montreal are postponed.
March 21 – The Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) announces that its stores will begin closing on Sundays.
March 22 – The Quebec government announces the closure of all shopping malls and hair and beauty salons. Grocery stores, pharmacies, and SAQ stores will remain open, as well as stores that are accessible by an exterior entrance. All restaurants must close dining-room service, while take-out service can continue. Schools and daycares are to remain closed until at least May 1.
March 23 – Premier Legault orders the closure of all non-essential businesses beginning at midnight on March 24, until at least April 13. The Service de Police de Montreal (SPVM) declares a state of emergency for an indefinite period of time in order to optimize COVID-19-related interventions.
March 28 – Travel within the province is restricted. Only essential travel into Bas-Saint-Laurent, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Côte-Nord, Nord-du-Québec, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Nunavik, and Terres-Cries-de-la-Baie-James are permitted. Police checkpoints are announced to enforce this measure.
March 29 – The state of emergency is extended.
March 31 – Legault orders all essential businesses (excluding restaurants, gas stations, and dépanneurs) to close on Sundays until further notice in order to provide a day of rest for employees.
April
April 1 – Intra-provincial travel is further restricted to include non-essential movement in four new regions: Outaouais, the territories and municipalities of Antoine-Labelle and Argenteuil in the Laurentides region, the territories of Autray, Joliette, Matawinie and Montcalm in the Lanaudière region, and l'agglomération de La Tuque in the Mauricie et Centre-du-Québec region.
April 2 – Legault announces that provincial and municipal police officers will enforce emergency measures against individuals and businesses. Individuals and businesses who do not respect the public health directives can be fined $1,000 to $6,000 by the police. Mayor Plante announces a larger police presence in the six major parks of Montreal in order to enforce physical distancing laws. The city also announces the temporary suspension of the annual indexing of it parking meters.
April 4 – The Quebec government grants the national public health director and any health director the authority to order a person to self-isolate for a maximum period of 14 days without a court order if the person does not consent to voluntarily self-isolate.
April 5 – Quebec extends its public health emergency and all associated closures to at least May 4.
April 7 – The state of emergency is extended and the city of Montreal announces the cancellation of all summer festivals and events until July 2. Furthermore, Quebec announces the containment of Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, which was then closed off from the rest of the province. No one could leave or enter the region unless they fell within the exception.
Quebec releases a model projecting that the province will see as few as 1,263 to as many as 8,860 deaths from COVID-19 by the end of the month, depending on the epidemic curve.
April 9 – The La Ronde amusement park cancels the 36th edition of its fireworks competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
April 10 – The Quebec government announces that all festivals, sporting events and cultural events are cancelled until August 31. During his daily press briefing, François Legault floats the possibility of a return to school before May 4.
April 13 – The province unveils its gradual economic reopening plan. Additionally, Legault announces that residential construction slated for completion by July 31 will be re-classified as an essential service, arguing that the province "[doesn't] want to add a housing crisis on top of the current crisis."
April 15 – The state of emergency is extended until April 24.
April 20 – The lack of unanimity among CAQ MNAs and among the general population forces the government to postpone the initial date of May 4 for a return to class.
April 22 – The state of emergency is extended until April 29. The death rate in Montreal is revealed to be four times higher than that of Toronto.
April 24 – Premier Legault states that "outside of the senior residences, distancing measures are working," and announces plans to unveil strategies for phasing out the province's current restrictions on commerce and reopening schools. He notes that the province will have to ensure that they are able to "restart the economy without restarting the pandemic."
April 27 – The Quebec government announces that preschools and elementary schools outside the Metropolitan Community of Montreal (CMM) can reopen on May 11, preparing a possible return to work for their parents. Meanwhile, secondary schools, CÉGEPS and universities are expected to remain closed until September, i.e. until the start of the next school year.
April 28 – The Quebec government announces that retail stores outside of the Montreal region with exterior operating doors will be allowed to reopen from May 4 onwards. Retail stores within the Montreal region are allowed to reopen a week later on May 11.
April 29 – The Quebec government announces that regional travel restrictions will be lifted on May 4. However, the state of emergency is extended once more.
April 30 – In the two last weeks of April, the Montreal region saw 1,000 weekly deaths from all causes, representing an increase of 196% over the average for previous years. Only Madrid, London and Brussels experienced a larger increase.
May
May 3 – As Montrealers experienced two consecutive days of +20 °C (68 °F) weather and began crowding into parks, the city announced the closure of the parking lots at La Fontaine Park, Maisonneuve Park, Jarry Park, Frédéric-Back Park, and the Île de la Visitation nature park, effective May 3, 2020.
May 4 – Premier Legault postpones the reopening of businesses in Montreal to May 11. In an interview with the Téléjournal, Mayor Plante says she has already ordered 50,000 masks for the population. In addition, the STM announces that 6 of their buses will be transformed into mobile testing clinics.
May 5 – Patients with COVID-19 in the Greater Montreal Region begin being transferred to hospitals outside the city in order to relieve some pressure on the Montreal health system. The STM announces that it will start installing plexiglass panels to protect its drivers.
May 6 – The state of emergency is extended until May 13.
May 7 – The Quebec government postpones the reopening of shops, schools and daycare services in the greater Montreal region to May 25. The federal government confirms that 1,020 soldiers of the Canadian Army have been deployed to 20 different long-term care homes, all in the greater Montreal area. The City of Montreal announces a grant of $5 million to help local merchants, cultural enterprises, and social economy businesses.
In their second report on the evolution of the pandemic in Quebec, epidemiologists predict that the current deconfinement plan for the Greater Montreal region could result in 150 deaths per day by July 2020.
May 8 - The STM unveils its deconfinement plan for public transit. According to the STM, a maximum of 150 people per metro train and 15 people per bus would be necessary to enforce social distancing rules. To do this, the transport company would need 8,000 buses and 800 metro trains. The STM currently has 1,425 buses and 97 metro trains.
May 10 – During the week of May 10, 267 statements of offense for non-compliance with distancing measures were submitted by the Montreal police force (SPVM), while 199 had been issued the previous week.
May 13 – The state of emergency is extended until May 20.
May 14 – During his first press conference in Montreal, Premier François Legault announces that Montreal schools will not reopen until September 2020. He also strongly recommends that users of public transport wear masks. Benoit Dorais announces that "face covers" are going to be distributed starting on May 18 in the metro.