Quebec redirects most COVID vaccinations from Olympic Stadium because of weekend protest

Quebec is redirecting people from the mass vaccination site at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday because of a planned protest in the area against COVID-19 health orders.

Health Minister Christian Dub said Friday on Twitter that most appointments have been transferred to other clinics in the city.

He said the other clinics have the capacity to honour appointments scheduled at the stadium but deplored the fact protesters are choosing to demonstrate outside amass vaccination site.

The protest is being organized online by a group calling itself Quebec Debout (Quebec standsup). It calls the public health orders imposed in the province "excessive and unjustified.''

Protests are planned in Montreal and several other Quebec cities, according to the group's Facebook page.

Dub said the government respects the right to demonstrate but vaccination is a priority.

"People have a right to their opinion, but I think they could have left those who are getting vaccinated alone,'' Dub told TVA network in an interview on Friday.

The regional health authority governing the territory where the stadium is located said it had condensed appointments before 10 a.m. on Saturday and had stopped booking people at that site for the rest of the day in anticipation of the protest.

"The small volume of vaccines available on Saturday combined with the low demand for appointments allowed us to concentrate our meetings in the morning and thus adjust to the context surrounding the event,'' the health authority said in a statement Friday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters Friday the planned protest is "deeply disappointing.''

Freedom of expressionand assembly are important, evenduring a pandemic, but protests must be done safely, he added.

"The irony here is that by gathering, people are putting each other at risk, spreading further cases of COVID-19, and extending the time in which we will have to be faced with restrictions and public health measures,'' Trudeau said.