The following statement was issued today by Barrie-Innisfil MPP Andrea Khanjin:
COVID-19 – a term that was only coined seven weeks ago – is impossible to ignore.
I know that COVID-19 has changed your life: kids are not in school, non-essential workplaces are closed, and every story on the news is related to the virus.
Everyone is hearing the messages: stay home, stop the spread, physical distancing, self-isolation, wash your hands, cough into your elbow. Unfortunately, not everyone is taking the actions required.
Here are two simple facts to remember:
1. Everyone can get COVID-19, regardless of their age or how healthy they are.
2. Everyone can pass it on, whether they have symptoms of it, or not.
These simple facts mean that we are all in this together and that it is critical that everyone takes the situation seriously. Not only does everyone need to hear the messages, but everyone also needs to listen to the messages and then take the actions required of them.
Ontario has the ability to stop the spread of this virus. But we all have to play our part. Alone, no government can stop the spread of COVID-19. Not in Ontario, or anywhere else.
The government is taking the actions we can. On Monday, we extended the Declaration of Emergency that came into effect on March 17. We have also issued a series of Orders under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, all of which are designed to stop the spread of the virus:
• We took actions to close schools, childcare centres and non-essential workplaces.
• We have now issued an Order for the immediate closure of all outdoor recreational amenities, including sports fields and playgrounds.
• We have also updated an Order to restrict the size of public events and social gatherings to a limit of five people.
The prohibition on social gatherings applies everywhere, even in private homes. Unless those people are already living in a single household, gatherings of more than five people in a private home are against the Order and are an offence under the law.
The police and municipal bylaw enforcement officers have the authority to enforce compliance with Orders and to shut down public gatherings.
Failing to comply with an Order issued under the Emergency Act is an offence. Individuals can be charged, and a court can impose a fine of up to $100,000 and a year in prison.
Further, it is an offence to not correctly identify yourself to a police or bylaw officer who is enforcing an Order under the Emergency Act, and you can be ticketed $750. You can also be ticketed $1,000 by police or bylaw officers for obstructing them in their enforcement of an Order.
The government has taken these and other actions to stop the spread of COVID-19.
But, as I wrote earlier, it’s not enough to just hear the messages; we all have to listen and take the actions required. The health, safety and well-being of each one of us are truly in all of our hands.