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Complaints roll in as residents ignore COVID-19 related regulations

May 7, 2020   ·   0 Comments

Most residents are obeying advice from health officials regarding social distancing to limit the spread of COVID-19, but not everyone.

To date, New Tecumseth has received 77 concerns from residents regarding individuals who are ignoring the province’s directives respecting gatherings and physical distancing, which has kept bylaw officers busy.

“They are out actively patrolling a lot of our open spaces to ensure the provincial health directives with respect to gatherings and social distancing are being adhered to,” said Blaine Parkin, Town CAO.

From the bylaw officers’ patrols, there’s been 63 educational occurrences, 10 warnings issued, and one charge has been laid.

The Town’s bylaw officers are working closely with local Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) detachment on incidents related to COVID-19.

“We are watching that fairly closely because, as the warmer weather starts to come, we might have other issues to deal with if we are still actively enforcing and educating with respect to the provincial health directives,” Parkin said.

“That is an area of some concern at this point, just with respect to our resourcing and our ability to continue to provide the same level of service across the board in addition to the increased level of service that we’re providing with our daily patrols,” he added.

Parkin said the OPP’s non-emergency number (1-888-310-1122) should be the first point of contact when reporting instances of people congregating in large groups publicly.

By Sam Odrowski
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

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