Four people have been charged with public health order offenses over the last week, the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer stated in a news release on Wednesday.
The four charges represent one-third of all summary offences since June and occurred over a period of three days.
The tickets, in the amount of $1,725 each, were issued by the Compliance and Enforcement Taskforce after the individuals failed to follow self-isolation protocols.
NNSL file photo
On July 27, an individual in the North Slave region was charged after being in a public place despite "explicit advice" from public health officials.
On July 28, another individual in the North Slave was charged after they were in a public place while they were supposed to be self-isolating.
On July 29, charges were issued against two people in the Beaufort Delta after they didn't follow self-isolation protocols.
Further details on locations or names won't be given "as there is no public health value in adding additional consequences in the public sphere," said Mike Westwick, spokesperson for the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer (OCPHO).
Only six of the 98 calls to the Covid Info Line were related to complaints for July 29 to Aug. 4. Forty-nine were related to isolation plans.
The number of calls to the info line was lower over the last week compared to the 228 calls from July 15-28.
The total number of summary offence charges in the NWT for violation of health orders now stands at 12.
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"Standing together while staying apart"
"The Compliance and Enforcement team is troubled by the recent spate of self-isolation violations by NWT residents," Westwick said. "These measures are critical to preventing outbreaks in the NWT – and essential to protecting our friends, our families, and our communities."
Individuals who are self-isolating after a trip outside the NWT should stay home, receive no visitors and have essentials delivered to them, Westwick said.
Short walks can be done. The only way another person can join in is if they are self-isolating with the first person, and they can't come within two metres of anyone else.
If the residence of someone who is self-isolating is too small to stay away from others who aren't also self-isolating, the whole household must self-isolate with them. Otherwise, the person can stay at a GNWT isolation centre.
Investigations can take time
An alleged incident in Fort Simpson last week involving people allegedly not following travel restrictions and self-isolation protocols caused anxiety and calls for accountability.
However, Westwick said the nature of investigating alleged health order violations means the public shouldn't expect immediate enforcement.
He added that the OCPHO is taking action on the alleged incident and that there is no indication of any risk of exposure to Covid in Fort Simpson.
"Public health investigations take time – more time than something like a speeding ticket or tickets for not shovelling your driveway from municipal enforcement would. That’s because our officers generally don’t actually witness an incident like those officers would," said Westwick. "This makes it more like an investigation of a robbery in the night – where you need witness accounts and other evidence to be able to substantiate your charge."
Anonymous complaints and innuendo aren't sufficient to back up a charge. If members of the public want to report an incident they should have specific information and be prepared to speak on the record with investigators.
To contact enforcement, call 1-833-378-8297 or email ProtectNWT@gov.nt.ca.
Investigations into cases
The Compliance and Enforcement Taskforce has investigated at least 1,890 cases of alleged violations of health orders as of Aug. 5, an increase of 86 cases since the previous set of data was released last week.
A total of 937 cases have been in the North Slave region, 435 in the South Slave, 351 in the Beaufort Delta, 93 in the Dehcho and 74 in the Sahtu.
There have been 67 verbal warnings issued in the Beaufort Delta, 39 in the South Slave, 37 in the North Slave, nine in the Sahtu and eight in the Dehcho region.
Fifteen written warnings were issued in the Sahtu region, nine in the South Slave, two in the Dehcho and one in the North Slave.
None of the investigations or charges have led to court summons.