ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — A woman has been arrested in Corner Brook and charged with failing to abide by the province’s self-isolation rules for travellers.
The RNC has confirmed that officers arrested a 53-year-woman Tuesday afternoon and she is being held in custody to appear in provincial court via video Wednesday morning.
There are no indications the woman has the coronavirus, police said.
Sources told The Telegram that the woman, who is not believed to be from this province, travelled on the ferry from North Sydney, N.S., to Port-aux-Basques and took a bus to the Corner Brook hotel where she was staying.
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Police received information that the woman was not self-isolating, and reportedly located her in a parking lot Tuesday afternoon.
Witnesses told The Telegram the woman was wearing a medical face mask at the time police arrested her.
The woman is believed to be the first person arrested under emergency health measures invoked by the provincial government last week through its Public Health Protection and Promotion Act. The special measures, invoked as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, allow for the enforcement of compliance with recommendations from the province’s chief medical officer.
Anyone coming to Newfoundland and Labrador from anywhere outside the province is ordered to self-isolate for a minimum of 14 days, whether they are sick or not, in an effort to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
Any person who violates these orders is subject to a fine of $500-$2,500, a prison sentence of less than six months or a combination of the two. Businesses face fines between $5,000 and $50,000.
“These are among the most severe of any public-health legislation in Canada,” Health and Community Services Minister John Haggie said last week, explaining the emergency measures were implemented after health officials learned of events such as bingo and house parties that were still happening.
Report to health authorities
“We are dedicated to working with the community to ensure we’re all acting together to prevent the spread of this virus,” RNC communications officer Const. James Cadigan told The Telegram Tuesday evening. “It’s imperative that we all work with the health officials and the province’s chief medical officer and that people follow the rules the province has put in place.
“If you’re going to show disregard for those rules, we are going to enforce them.”
Cadigan said the RNC has received many calls related to the coronavirus, and he‘s urging people to make their reports to public-health officials by calling 811 instead of calling police directly.
The information provided via the phone line is forwarded to a team of police officers tasked with reviewing it and determining the most appropriate course of action when it comes to enforcement, Cadigan explained.
“I’d point out that we don’t have the means to test people for the virus,” he said. “We really need people to report their concerns to health professionals through the 811 line.”
— With files from Peter Jackson
Twitter: @tara_bradbury | Facebook: @telegramtara
