Montreal HomeShow back after hiatus despite 6th wave of COVID-19

The Home Show is back after two-year hiatus After two years, the popular Home Show is back just as the province declared a sixth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After two years, the popular Montreal HomeExpo has returned -- just in time for sixth wave of COVID-19 in Quebec.

The exposition is currently underway at the Olympic Stadium, with thousands of visitors expected.

Some health experts are sounding the alarm.

"I don't think it's a good idea to have mass gatherings of people when you have a highly transmissible variant," said Dr. Donald Vinh, an infectious disease specialist with McGill University.

Visitors are supposed to walk one direction along a 1.5-kilometre pathway through The HomeExpo and respect social distancing measures along the way.

"That's not how air works!" reminds Vinh, adding that having a flow to the crowd is not enough.

"Air doesn't follow aisles and corridors. Air spreads and it spreads irrespective of the direction people are walking, or if people are seated and told to take off their mask. Air doesn't stay around that person, it's not like the dust around Pigpen in the Charlie Brown cartoons," he said.

The organizers and exhibitors say they are respecting public health rules.

"We have a lot of place for people to move around and of course we're all wearing our masks," said one exhibitor, Douglas Leblanc of Meubles RD.

Masks are mandatory, which meets Vinh’s approval.

"If every person wears a mask, that adds a significant layer of protection. And if everyone is wearing a mask and there's optimal ventilation, that is even better," he said.

And if you do go, go when the crowds are small.

The Montreal HomeExpo is on at the Olympic stadium until Sunday.