The region’s medical officer of health has seen enough people disregarding health unit orders to self-isolate due to a positive COVID test or high-risk contact that he’s implementing $5,000-per-day fines for offenders.
Dr. Charles Gardner, medical officer of health for Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, issued a class order under the Health Protection and Promotion Act today stating anyone not abiding by self-isolation orders could be fined $5,000 per day.
The order is effective immediately and applies to anyone living in Simcoe County or Muskoka District who has been diagnosed with COVID, has signs and symptoms and is awaiting test results, has reasonable grounds to believe they have one or more COVID symptoms, or is a close contact of a person diagnosed with COVID-19.
Those people must self-isolate for 14 days or risk a fine.
“We’ve had some challenges with some individuals not abiding by our direction for self-isolation for cases or close contacts,” said Gardner. “People have had positive test results and we follow-up and find they are not following self-isolation … It’s happening frequently enough for us that we’re proceeding issuing a class order.”
The doctor confirmed health unit staff have encountered instances where people who tested positive for COVID-19 returned to work before the 14-day self-isolation period ended. In these cases, the health unit had to complete contact tracing again with the people who were exposed to the COVID-positive individual.
He acknowledged enforcement will be a challenge, since an order under the Health Protection and Promotion Act is only enforceable by the health unit. However, Gardner said the health unit will still be focusing on educating those who need to self-isolate.
“This is meant to help us with those few who disregard what we require,” said Gardner.
The health unit provides the following information for those who aren’t sure when or how long they should be self-isolating:
If you think you have any symptoms of COVID-19, use the provincial COVID self-assessment tool, and if indicated by the tool, get tested and self-isolate at home for 10 days (the period of time you are contagious) or until your test result is negative for COVID-19.
If you have been identified as a close contact of someone with COVID-19, which means being within two metres of that infected person for at least 15 minutes without adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), you must self-isolate for 14 days even though you don’t have symptoms.
This is because the COVID-19 incubation period (the period between exposure to an infection and the appearance of the first symptoms) can be up to 14 days. Adequate PPE is using both medical grade surgical/procedural mask and protective eyewear. Cloth face coverings are not adequate PPE.
