Coronavirus: Guelph bylaw lay 2 charges over first weekend of stay-at-home order

The City of Guelph says its bylaw officers laid two charges over the first weekend of the province’s stay-at-home order.

Both of them were laid at one home, and at a cost of $750, while responding to a complaint about residential gatherings.

The city said its bylaw officers responded to 15 calls about residential gatherings and another six calls about businesses not following guidelines, but no other fines were laid.

No charges were issued to any big box stores during inspections by bylaw either, but the city didn’t say how many stores were inspected.

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Deputy CAO Colleen Clack-Bush noted that Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health reported that the seven-day average number of positive tests and confirmed cases has gone down for the first time in weeks.

“We’re not ready to celebrate just yet, but we’re really hoping this is the start of a new trend,” she said in a statement.

“Thank you to everyone who has been and continues doing their part to slow the spread of this virus.”

Starting Monday, the city said it would be issuing tickets to anyone not following the mandatory mask policy on Guelph Transit.

It added that it would post a weekly summary of bylaw calls and charges on its website.

The city has also clarified how the stay-at-home order would be enforced.

Police and bylaw officers are not allowed to enter homes or randomly stop people while they are outside.

They are authorized to disperse or issue fines to people illegally gathering, issue fines to people who refuse to wear a mask as required and issue fines to businesses that do not comply with COVID-19 guidelines.

Failure to comply could result in a $750 fine and obstructing officers could result in a $10,000 fine.

The city has also created a map to report and track COVID-19 concerns in Guelph.