As red zone restrictions come to Laurentians, residents blame tourists for bringing COVID-19

Stricter rules in Laurentians The Laurentians are facing stricter COVID-19 restrictions and many are blaming tourists for bringing the virus north.

MONTREAL — With parts of the Laurentians set to become red zones on Monday, some residents are blaming tourists for bringing COVID-19 north with them for the tigher restrictions.

In Morin Heights, resident Richard Dubois noted that the small community can double or even triple in size on weekends.

“It's long overdue that we shut down,” he said. “We have an old population here, there's a lot of tourists coming up so people aren't doing their regular things. They're saying, 'I'm scared to go out, we don't want to get caught catching the disease.'”

Cottage owner George Coussa called the impending restrictions “a good thing.”

“We'll limit the spread of the disease. I'm just wondering why it wasn't done Friday when it was announced. Why go through the weekend?” he said.

But Morin-Heights Mayor Tim Watchorn said the situation could have been avoided.

“We're disappointed we're going to a red zone because we've been asking the government for weeks and weeks to set up road blocks so people from red zones would stop coming to the orange zone,” he said. “They didn't do it, now we have the result that we have.”

While the provincial government said visiting the Laurentians from a red zone wasn't recommended, no road blocks were erected to prevent travel. Watchorn said many people came from red zones to take advantage of still-open bars and restaurants, which have been shut down in red zones.

“They came here, we were the only place that was open,” he said. “It's human nature.”

At St-Sauveur ski hill, phone calls have been flooding in asking if they'll be open for business as ski season begins. Les Sommets president Louis-Philippe Hebert said other than the restaurant and bar being closed, there won't be much of a change from the usual.

“A lot of questions, wondering what's happening and wondering if there's going to be a ski season,” he said. “We are open, the ski shop is open, the daily rental is open, the repair shop is open. There's a modification of usage of lifts, where people from the same family can ride up the lift together. If you're not from the same house, you should use one person per lift.”