Senator Says He Wouldn’t Have Been Tested for New Virus Based on Current Guidelines
VANCOUVER鈥擬easures聽limiting personal聽contact to reduce the spread of COVID-19 have seemed like suggestions聽to beachgoers聽in the Vancouver area, where basketball games聽and聽picnics聽in the midst of a pandemic prompted the mayor to announce fines on Monday.
Vancouver聽has closed聽parking lots at popular sites like Kitsilano Beach, where basketball hoops have also been removed.
Citizens聽concerned about the聽flouting of public health orders prohibiting group gatherings have taken to posting photos and videos of such scenes, with pleas for municipalities to enforce compliance.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a stern message Monday to聽people who have been gathering in groups. Those who choose to ignore social-distancing advice or venture into crowded places are putting themselves and others at risk of infection, he said.
“We鈥檝e all seen the pictures online of people who seem to think they鈥檙e invincible. Well, you鈥檙e not. Enough is enough,” he said.聽“Go home and stay home.”
Vancouver city council voted unanimously Monday to permit聽fines as high as $50,000 against businesses聽that don鈥檛 adhere to social distancing measures and up to $1,000 for individuals.
Nova Scotia聽limited groups to a maximum of five people on Monday and police have been empowered to enforce social distancing with $1,000 fines for individuals and $7,500 for businesses.
Quebec announced fines of at least $1,000 against anyone ignoring a directive to prohibit gatherings.
Dr. Peter Phillips, a clinical professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at the University of British Columbia, said fines must become widespread as part of aggressive containment measures to prevent more illness.
He said Trudeau struck the right tone聽by聽calling out people聽who are not keeping their distance from others.
“We really can鈥檛 be permissive about this. Otherwise we鈥檙e not going to end up with an effective plan for social distancing,”聽Phillips said, calling the online evidence of non鈭抍ompliance “disturbing.”
“If it takes shaming聽then so be it. If we are hesitant about putting these measures in place because we might infringe on people鈥檚 rights a bit too much, one needs to keep in focus the experience playing out in Italy in recent days,” he said of thousands of deaths in that country.
“The聽rights of Canadians who are not currently infected, who will become infected and suffer serious disease or a fatal outcome, those people鈥檚 rights need to be kept in focus as well.”
Canada鈥檚 other responses should聽include supervised quarantine for returning travellers, he said, adding that the example of European countries where the virus is spreading rapidly should be considered a warning to take immediate action.
Taiwan and South Korea鈥檚 efforts are examples聽of ways to聽reduce the rate of infection within weeks, Phillips said.聽They will also聽save on social and economic costs, he said.
Foreign travellers under quarantine should be monitored, as was聽done in Taiwan, Phillips said, but $100 million in federal funding announced earlier this month for public health initiatives as part of a $1-billion聽package is inadequate to support such services.
Travellers with significant exposure risk were聽quarantined at home in聽Taiwan and monitored through text messaging to聽ensure adherence, lowering the risk of passing on the virus, he said.
“If people don鈥檛 comply with it then they have done something about it. It鈥檚 not just an ask over there. If people have been breaking quarantine then they have been fined.”
This article is from the Internet:Fines Coming For Canadians Ignoring COVID-19 Warnings From Authorities
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