Articles by Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press

Mar 28 2020 — Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press — MONTREAL — The Quebec government is moving to protect some of the province's more remote regions from the spread of COVID-19 by setting up checkpoints to block non-essential travel. Deputy premier Genevieve Guilbault announced the measure Saturday as health officials reported nearly 2,500 people in the province have tested positive for the disease. She said police checkpoints would […]

Mar 28 2020 — Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press — MONTREAL — The Quebec government is moving to protect some of the province's more remote regions from the spread of COVID-19 by setting up checkpoints to block non-essential travel. Deputy premier Genevieve Guilbault announced the measure Saturday as health officials reported nearly 2,500 people in the province have tested positive for the disease. She said police checkpoints would […]

Mar 27 2020 — Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press — MONTREAL — Premier Francois Legault on Friday warned against travelling to Montreal or the Eastern Townships — the two hardest-hit regions in the province for COVID-19 — and urged people who lived in those two hot spots to stay there. Legault announced 10 more people had died of the disease in the province, bringing the death […]

Mar 27 2020 — Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press — MONTREAL — Premier Francois Legault on Friday warned against travelling to Montreal or the Eastern Townships — the two hardest-hit regions in the province for COVID-19 — and urged people who lived in those two hot spots to stay there. Legault announced 10 more people had died of the disease in the province, bringing the death […]

Mar 26 2020 — Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press — MONTREAL — Quebec reported another large increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases Thursday and added two more deaths as Premier Francois Legault called for volunteers to help those unable to buy food. The province reported 1,629 confirmed cases — the most in Canada — and two more deaths. One was in Montreal, and regional health authorities […]

Mar 26 2020 — Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press — MONTREAL — Quebec reported another large increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases Thursday and added two more deaths as Premier Francois Legault called for volunteers to help those unable to buy food. The province reported 1,629 confirmed cases — the most in Canada — and two more deaths. One was in Montreal, and regional health authorities […]

Mar 26 2020 — Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press — MONTREAL — In David Saint-Jacques' line of work, physical distancing comes with the job. The Canadian astronaut spent 204 days aboard the International Space Station, returning last June after nearly seven months working alongside a small crew aboard the International Space Station, far from his family. So Saint-Jacques and his fellow space travellers have experience […]

Mar 24 2020 — Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press — MONTREAL — Quebec authorities reported a significant jump in the number of COVID-19 cases for the second straight day Tuesday, pushing the number over 1,000.  The 1,013 cases — a rise of 385 from a day earlier — followed a ratcheting-up in the number of completed tests, but the province's death toll remained at four, Premier Francois Legault […]

Mar 24 2020 — Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press — MONTREAL — Quebec authorities reported a significant jump in the number of COVID-19 cases for the second straight day Tuesday, pushing the number over 1,000.  The 1,013 cases — a rise of 385 from a day earlier — followed a ratcheting-up in the number of completed tests, but the province's death toll remained at four, Premier Francois Legault […]

Mar 20 2020 — Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press — MONTREAL — A Montreal suburb with a high proportion of seniors in its population has confirmed its first four cases of COVID-19, leading local authorities to extend a state of emergency and raise the possibility of sealing off the community. "We are 34,000 in a very small area with apartment buildings, condos, a large religious community," Cote-St-Luc Mayor […]

Mar 20 2020 — Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press — MONTREAL — A Montreal suburb with a high proportion of seniors in its population has confirmed its first four cases of COVID-19, leading local authorities to extend a state of emergency and raise the possibility of sealing off the community. "We are 34,000 in a very small area with apartment buildings, condos, a large religious community," Cote-St-Luc Mayor […]

Mar 19 2020 — Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press — MONTREAL — A woman who says her grandmother was the first Quebecer to die of COVID-19 has published an impassioned plea urging people to follow recommendations of public health officials. In a message posted to Facebook on behalf of the family, Bibianne Lavallee says 82-year-old Mariette Tremblay was a caring woman who was loved by all. "We didn't […]

Mar 19 2020 — Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press — MONTREAL — A woman who says her grandmother was the first Quebecer to die of COVID-19 has published an impassioned plea urging people to follow recommendations of public health officials. In a message posted to Facebook on behalf of the family, Bibianne Lavallee says 82-year-old Mariette Tremblay was a caring woman who was loved by all. "We didn't […]

Mar 18 2020 — Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press — MONTREAL — Quebec athletes and celebrities stepped up after the premier called on anyone with a large social media following to urge teens to heed COVID-19 health advice. Soon after Premier Francois Legault's plea Tuesday for help reinforcing his message that young people need to avoid gatherings, videos began appearing on the social media accounts of athletes, musicians and other influencers.  Coeur […]

Mar 18 2020 — Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press — MONTREAL — Quebec reported its first death from COVID-19 on Wednesday as Premier Francois Legault sought to reassure citizens the province is ready to confront the pandemic. Legault told a briefing on Wednesday that an elderly woman from the Lanaudiere region, northeast of Montreal, died of the disease linked to the novel coronavirus. "The battle will be hard, the battle […]