Total of 95 tickets issued by province in Manitoba, including to person at church, and 16 at rally

The province says they issued nearly 100 tickets last week to people and businesses flouting public health rules.

“In total, 79 warnings and 95 tickets were issued last week between Nov. 16 to 22, a significant increase from the week prior, when 54 warnings and 30 tickets were issued,” they said in a press release.

“This includes nine $5,000 tickets to business, and 55 $1,296 tickets to individuals. Three band bylaw tickets were also issued by the Manitoba First Nations Police Service.”

Premier Brian Pallister said a total of $126,082 in fines were issued last week, up from $49,992 the week before.

“It’s not about the money, it’s about preventing a situation that will hurt people,” said Pallister.

He said 16 tickets were also issued to people who went to a large outdoor rally in Steinbach on Nov. 14, and more tickets are expected.

“One person who attended a subsequent event at the Legislative Building in Winnipeg on Nov. 21 was identified and served with a ticket for their participation in the earlier event.”

Pallister confirmed that a large church gathering in Steinbach on Sunday is also being investigated, and one person was given a $1,296 ticket.

“More tickets for other participants are expected as the investigation continues.”

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A total of 388 warnings and 307 tickets have been issued since April, bringing in more than $390,000 in fines.

The premier thanked local businesses who rushed to implement the restrictions that were brought down last week to only sell essential items.

The enforcement update comes after Manitoba announced its highest number of COVID-19 cases in a single day so far, with 546 cases on Monday.

Meanwhile, thousands of students in the Hanover School Division moved their classrooms back to their dining room tables Tuesday.

The division staff spent Monday getting ready to send students home and have them dial in to the class room remotely said Ron Falk, Hanover School Division Board of Trustees chair.

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“Thankfully we have a fair bit of experience from earlier in the spring. We will be doing the same kind of format where the teachers are able to Zoom in with their students at home and hold class like that.”

The division moved to remote learning after cases spiked in the Steinbach area, which at one point last week had a test positivity rate of 40 per cent.

-with files from Amber McGuckin and Shane Gibson