Quebec’s manufacturing and construction associations say there will be major damage to Quebec’s economy if the government imposes a strict COVID-19 lockdown similar to what occurred last spring.

Veronique Proulx, CEO of Manufacturiers et Exportateurs du Quebec, reacted Tuesday to multiple media reports saying Premier Francois Legault is set to close non-essential manufacturing businesses to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

“The worst scenario for us would be to go back to the same situation we had last spring,” Proulx said in an interview. She said Quebec manufacturers lost $4 billion in sales when they were shut during the first wave of the pandemic and she expects a similar situation if manufacturers are forced to close again.

Legault is scheduled to hold a news conference late Wednesday and was meeting with opposition leaders Tuesday. According to multiple reports, the province may, for the first time since the spring, order “non-essential” manufacturers and the construction sector to close and extend the current closure of schools.

Quebec reported 2,508 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday and 62 more deaths, including 17 that occurred in the previous 24 hours. Health officials said COVID-19 hospitalizations rose by 23, to 1,317 — the highest number since late May — and 194 people were in intensive care, an increase of six.

The province says 2,529 doses of vaccine were administered Monday, for a total of 32,763. The test positivity rate in Quebec was 11 per cent on Jan. 3, the most recent date for which data is available, with 20,716 tests conducted.

Quebec has reported 215,358 cases of COVID-19 and 8,441 deaths linked to the virus since the beginning of the pandemic.

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