TORONTO -- Musicians in Quebec are playing in long term care homes, hospitals and vaccinations sites in an effort to encourage people to get inoculated.
For the second day in a row the province reported under 500 cases of COVID-19, as Quebecers anticipate the repeal of some health restrictions on May 28.
Quebec’s vaccination campaign saw teenagers line up at vaccination centre in Montreal over the weekend to get inoculated as the province’s rollout begins lowering its age threshold to anyone aged 12 years and older.
And it’s at those vaccination centres that musicians like cellist Francis Palma-Pelletier of the group “The Sam’s” have been playing to give people a taste of life after the pandemic.
“Tango is the embrasso, it is really the essence of music playing,” Palma-Pelletier told CTV National News, speaking of his vaccination site concerts. “People are dancing, not being able to do that for more than a year.”
The musicians are part of a wider effort from the Quebec government to make vaccination sites more attractive, like using the site of the Canadian Grand Prix as a drive-through and ride-through inoculation centre – the paddocks converted to help boost the province in the race to get vaccinated.
It’s efforts like that that Palma-Pelletier says give people “hope” and a “clin d’oeil (a wink) that people will be able to attend concert halls…after people are vaccinated.”
