Two Montreal police officers infected with coronavirus

TVA News reports that the two officers recently returned from travelling abroad.

On Sunday, the Montreal Police Service declared a state of emergency.

This will give SPVM management more flexibility with police schedules and allow for better distribution of resources.

“This is something that is invoked very rarely. In memory, the last time it was invoked was during the ice storm in 1998,” said Cmdr. André Durocher of the SPVM, during an interview with Agence QMI.

Declaring a state of emergency allows the SPVM to respond to incoming calls more efficiently and better prepare themselves in the event of an incident, such as a break in quarantine.

“We are hoping that the fact the media is talking about it will get the message across [that people need to stay home],” said Durocher.

“We don’t want to create [an atmosphere] where you are snitching on your neighbour because two people are walking. We are hoping people will show common sense. We want people to be civilized and not insult each other.”

There have already been over 2,000 reports made to the SPVM by Montrealers who denounce gatherings and other problematic situations that interfere with rules and regulations announced by the government to control the spread of the novel coronavirus.