The Abitibi-Témiscamingue Health Unit says travel to the region is now prohibited, which means that the town of Témiscaming, northwest of North Bay is now off-limits to Ontario residents travelling Highway 63.
"People coming from Ontario cannot enter, " Dr. Sobanjo, Public Health Specialist for Abitibi-Témiscamingue told BayToday. "There is no roadblock but if you are found in our region and you cannot explain why, for example, to work (exemptions), people from Ontario should not come here."
The ban came into effect yesterday, and those that were in the region before then can remain.
"If you can prove you were here before you won't be penalized," explained Dr. "If not, you can be fined."
"Three new cases of coronavirus have been reported in Abitibi-Témiscamingue in the last 24 hours. These cases are distributed between the Rouyn-Noranda and Gold Valley RCNs. They are all about people who have been in contact with already known cases of public health," says the web page.
One person is currently being hospitalized in connection with COVID-19.
The ban on travel to Abitibi-Témiscamingue, adopted by ministerial order, and announced Thursday, aims to protect the population of the region, including reducing the possibilities of introducing other variants of COVID-19, very present elsewhere in Quebec and Ontario.
Exceptions however have been made for work and medical appointments.
In Quebec, people from a red or orange zone are required to isolate for a period of 14 days.
