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QUEBEC — With the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases sharply up, Premier François Legault took another dramatic step to prevent the virus from spreading, putting the province on partial lockdown until mid-April.

That means all non-essential businesses are to close by midnight Tuesday, but those that can close immediately are asked to do so, Legault said. That includes construction sites and aluminum smelters but not grocery stores and pharmacies.

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“We are entering a new phase,” Legault said at his daily media briefing on the coronavirus pandemic. “A phase which is more critical. Quebec is going to be on pause for three weeks.

“What I want to tell Quebecers who are not working in an essential service, please stay at home. The more we limit (human) contact, the faster we will limit the virus and the faster we will be able to return to our normal lives. So it’s time to be united more than ever.”

“I don’t want to scare people, but I have to,” added Quebec public health director Horacio Arruda. “It’s a question of life and death.”