KENORA – Medical officer of health Dr. Kit Young Hoon has issued a Section 22 order, allowing for greater enforcement of COVID-19 self-isolation requirements.
Residents not complying with direction to self-isolate could face fines of up to $5,000 and court confinement orders in extreme cases.
The move comes amid a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases, which the Northwestern Health Unit attributed largely to one major outbreak in the Kenora area.
The district has reported more than 80 cases in the past week, including a record 40 on Saturday, with indicators like its testing positivity rate and incidence rate more than tripling for the week of Feb. 8 to 14, compared to the one before.
The health unit reported another 13 confirmed cases in the Kenora region Monday. On Tuesday, it reported one confirmed and one probable case in that region, one each in the Rainy River and Dryden/Red Lake regions, and two in the Sioux Lookout region.
There were three district individuals hospitalized with the virus as of Tuesday, increasing from only one the week before.
In the face of those rising numbers, Young Hoon has issued a Section 22 order under Ontario’s Health Protection and Promotion Act. The step allows medical officers of health to enforce orders related to communicable disease.
The class order will enable enforcement of the health unit's self-isolation directions, and sets out penalties for non-compliance.
Those required by public health to self-isolate for COVID-19 could face fines of between $750 and $5,000 for failing to comply, the health unit advised. In more serious cases, a court order for confinement can be issued.
The order comes into effect Feb. 17 at 12:01 a.m.
The health unit has previously issued individual Section 22 orders in individual cases related to COVID-19, Young Hoon said, but saw a need for the broader tool of a class order given the dramatic rise in cases.
“Most people follow self-isolation requirements if they’re a case or a high-risk contact,” she said at a virtual press conference Tuesday. “Throughout the pandemic, we’ve had the occasional case that hasn’t followed those recommendations and unfortunately, in some instances, it’s led to the spread of COVID-19.”
Enforcement is never a first step, said Young Hoon, but could be used as a last resort.
“If we receive information that an individual is not self-isolating appropriately, we’ll follow up, re-educate and spend some time ensuring the person is supported," she said. "Sometimes people are unable to self-isolate for a number of different reasons, whether it’s that they don’t have someone to get food or they don’t have a place to live.”
Enforcement officers with the health unit will be empowered to enforce the orders, but police could also play a role and will be advised of the order, she added.
Young Hoon would not disclose more specific geographic details on recent cases, but said the majority were concentrated in one cluster in the Kenora region.
Wabaseemoong First Nation Chief Waylon Scott announced “a high number of confirmed cases” on Feb. 10 in his community, which is located in the NWHU’s Kenora region.
The recent growth in cases could affect the NWHU's move to the Yellow-Protect zone in the provincial COVID-19 response framework, Young Hoon said. She expected to discuss the situation with the province later this week, but said the clustering of the cases could affect the response.
“What is clear is that the situation is primarily affecting the Kenora area, and not the rest of the catchment area of the Northwestern Health Unit, so that makes it a little bit more challenging to think about a blanket restriction level for the entire catchment area.”
