While he can’t direct officers to do anything, Toronto Mayor John Tory is stating his opinion on whether we should see more fines for people who don’t follow physical distancing rules, especially with the long weekend coming up.
“I think it is time now, we’ve been at this for a week,” Tory said, referring the city’s physical distancing bylaw.
It requires people who don’t live together to stay six feet apart in a public park or square, with a penalty of up to $1,000 fine.
Up to now, most interactions between officers and the public have been about educating them about the bylaw and issuing warnings.
But given how much public education there’s been, Tory doesn’t mind if the trend changes.
“If they are at this stage not receiving the message and not engaging in the kind of behaviour that we would like to see,” he said. “I still think it’s possible for most people to be given a gentle nudge and perhaps moved along, but perhaps it’s time to be getting a little more stringent.”
On Wednesday, bylaw officers spoke to nearly 1,000 people regarding the closure of park amenities and distancing rules, issuing 16 written cautions and 15 tickets, for a total of 68 tickets since April 4th.
As for the shipment Toronto has been waiting for since having to recall half of its surgical mask supply, Fire Chief Matthew Pegg says it’s since arrived.
“That’s great news,” he said. “That returns us to an inventory time of six to eight weeks.”
The shipment represented 50 per cent of the city’s supply for that specific product.
The latest COVID19 numbers for Toronto:
-1,769 positive cases
-174 hospitalized.
-76 in ICU and 54 overall deaths