About 5 people with COVID-19 rode buses to Montreal's anti-health-measure protest, officials say

After droves of maskless demonstrators marched through Montreal's east end to protest Quebec's public health restrictions on May 1, medicalofficials say those who bused to the event should get tested for COVID-19.

The health agency for the Chaudire-Appalaches region, just south of Quebec City, says there were about five infected passengers among the 48 who rode two chartered buses to the Olympic Stadium.

In a statement released Friday, the agency "invites those concerned to go for screening and to isolate themselves if necessary in the event of symptoms."

The buses were reserved by organizers from the Beauce region, with a starting point in the Saint-Nicolas sector of Lvis, Que., the agency says.

Genevive Dion, a spokesperson for the Chaudire-Appalaches health agency, said epidemiologicalinvestigators have had trouble obtaining information about people's movements and contacts to alert those who may have been exposed to the virus.

Unable to get a clear picture of how many people may have been impacted, shesaid the health agency decided to make a public appeal warning all who took the buses to get tested.

"We are not going to send them to prison," she said. "What we want is to obtain information to complete epidemiological investigations and protect the health of other people."

Protest forces temporary closure of vaccination site

At its peak in Montreal, the parade of protesters stretched for nearly two kilometres as demonstrators called for a return to normal life, with the economy fully open and gatherings allowed.

The protest forced Quebec public health to close the Olympic Stadium vaccination site and move afternoon appointments to another clinic. The march followed a loop around Maisonneuve Park and the Botanical Garden.

Samuel Grenier, one of the protest's organizers with the group Qubec debout (Quebec stands up), said some people at the event were against vaccinations and others were in favour of them.

Collectively, he said, demonstrators were opposed to the idea of "immunity passports," which would allow people to show they've been vaccinated to make it simpler to access services or travel.

While people came to the demonstration from across southern Quebec, the situation in Chaudire-Appalaches is particularly acute, with 5.79 per cent of tests coming back positive.

On Friday, there were 137 new cases of COVID-19 in the region, adding to the nearly 1,000 active cases there.

Across the river, the situation is improving in the Quebec City region with only 56 new cases on Friday and no new deaths.

Quebec City and the Chaudire-Appalaches are among Quebec regions that have been under a more severe lockdown than the rest of the province due to a boom in cases and hospitalizations.