A Chatham man may have exposed members of the community to the coronavirus following a trip to Florida.
Chatham-Kent police received a tip last weekend that a man had recently returned from the United States and was failing to comply with the mandatory 14-day self-isolation order under the federal Quarantine Act.
Investigators learned that the man returned to Canada on July 10, landing at Pearson International Airport. He failed to self-isolate for two weeks, potentially exposing members of his family, friends and the community to the virus, police said.
“It is certainly unfortunate and disheartening that anyone would place themselves and more importantly others at risk by not following the simple direction provided to them in respect to self-quarantine,” said Chatham-Kent police Chief Gary Conn in a media release. “In order for us to mitigate this pandemic, a collaborative approach is going to be required by all of us and I would please request that everyone does their part to ensure this occurs.”
A 41-year-old Chatham man was charged on Monday with failing to comply with an order, contrary to section 58 of the federal Quarantine Act. He was issued a $1,130 fine.
The Chatham-Kent public health unit is also investigating.
READ MORE: As Florida’s coronavirus cases surge, some — including ‘grim reaper’ — want masks mandated
Infections have been soaring in many states including California, Florida, Texas and Arizona. Last week, Florida’s Department of Health reported 12,478 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 87 more deaths. Overall, there have been nearly 350,047 cases, resulting in more than 5,000 deaths.
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