Date: Monday, December 7, 2020
File: 20-48037
Victoria, BC – Patrol officers issued a man a $230 fine this weekend after a violation of the COVID-19 Related Measures Act (CRMA).
Shortly after 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 5th, Patrol officers we called to a restaurant in the 1400-block of Store Street for a report of a CRMA violation. Restaurant staff reported that a patron refused to wear a mask when not seated at their assigned booth. When staff asked the man to wear a mask and follow the Provincial Health Officer’s (PHO) guidelines, the man became belligerent, repeatedly swore at staff, and refused to comply with the direction to wear a mask. As the man was leaving the restaurant, he coughed in an exaggerated manner toward staff.
Patrol officers responded immediately and located the man leaving the restaurant. Officers detained the man and served him with a $230 violation ticked for abusive or belligerent behaviour in a PHO identified premise, contrary to section 6 of the CRMA.
Currently, under the Provincial Health Officer’s Use of Face Coverings in Indoor Public Spaces (COVID-19) Order, masks are required to be worn by everyone in public indoor settings, including when not seated at a table at a restaurant. Failure to comply with this order may result in a $230 fine under the CRMA. Exemptions to this order include people with health conditions or with physical, cognitive or mental impairments who cannot wear a mask, people who cannot remove a mask on their own, and children under the age of 12.
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