Three fined under COVID-19 emergency orders for golfing on closed Chedoke Golf Course

Three people are facing $750 fines for golfing on a closed municipal course in Hamilton, Ont.

The charges were laid at Chedoke Golf Course on Thursday by Hamilton Police under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA), currently in force as part of a bid to control the spread of COVID-19.

Paul Johnson, Hamilton’s director of emergency operations, commented on the fines during a city briefing on Friday afternoon, saying “we’re pretty close to zero tolerance” for such infractions.

Johnson says “this is not a joke and it’s not a situation now where we’re going to continue to come to these types of events and implore people to follow the rules.”

1:28 Hamilton McDonald’s employee charged with faking COVID-19 diagnosis

He adds that it’s pretty clear golf courses are closed and he’s “not sure how anybody could confuse the fact that they didn’t pay a green fee.”

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Hamilton is up to 138 as of Friday afternoon, almost doubling 70 confirmed cases at the start of the week.

Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger says we head into this weekend facing a “daunting quest” in the fight against the virus.

He describes it a “bad movie, getting worse.”