The Ottawa Police Service says it has charged a man from California with violating the federal Quarantine Act after he received multiple visits from a local resident when he should have been self-isolating.
The OPS said it received a complaint on Jan. 13 regarding a man who had allegedly disobeyed the Quarantine Act, which imposes a 14-day self-isolation order on anyone entering the country to limit any further import of the novel coronavirus.
The complainant indicated the man, a United States resident, had arrived in Canada on Jan. 6 and was therefore required to stay in quarantine until Jan. 19.
OPS said in a release that the man was visited on “several occasions and for extended periods of time by an Ottawa resident.” Visits from outsiders are prohibited under Section 58 of the Quarantine Act.
The traveller, a 62-year-old man from El Cajon, Cali., has now been charged with failing to comply with an entry condition under the Quarantine Act.
Police told Global News he was issued a $1,000 fine for the violation, with surcharges bringing the total amount owed to $1,130.
The man’s visitor was also issued a verbal warning, police said.