Sherbrooke authorizes 300 people to attend baseball game, despite public health recommendations

The City of Sherbrooke, Que., has authorized a gathering of 300 people for a baseball game at Amde-Roy Stadium on Sunday.

The Quebec government announced on Thursday that the limit on public indoor gatherings was going up from 50 to 250 as of Aug. 3.

On Friday, the Health Ministry confirmedthere is no limit on how many people can attend an outdoor event before Aug. 3. After that, the limit of 250 is a recommendation, the health ministry said.

While there is no official limit on outdoor gatherings, public health "strongly recommends" that before Aug. 3, outdoor gatherings be limited to 50 people.

"The Health Ministry and public health want to avoid as much as possible the concentration of masses of people outside," read a statement from the ministry.

Steve Lussier, the mayor of Sherbrooke,said he consulted the town's legal team before making thedecision to allow 300 spectators to attend the ball game.

"The stadium has a capacity of almost 1,000," Lussier said. "With 300 people, we are at about 30 per centof the capacity."

Lussier said there will be hand-cleaning stations set up at the event and masks will be sold on site.

Dr. Alain Poirier, director of public health for the Eastern Townships,told CBC thatuntil Aug.3, there is technically no ban oncertain types of large, outdoor gatherings

"There are actually no limits except for festivals, according to the provincial rules," Poirier said. "So for this weekend, 300 is okay."