New Brunswick’s premier said the province will issue tickets and fines if people do not comply with the state of emergency.
Blaine Higgs made the comments Monday during the province’s daily update on the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said while most are obeying the state of emergency and staying inside as much as possible, some people are still disobeying the order.
Higgs pointed to a situation at New River Beach near Saint John this past weekend, where more than 100 vehicles were reported.
“If there’s a lineup of cars there in the coming days, there will be fines, there will be warnings, there will be tickets, there will be enforcement. We are not going to continue to let this pandemic spread throughout our province because some people refuse to take it seriously,” said Higgs.
Higgs said 250 investigations have been launched into non-compliance with the state of emergency regulations but did not provide any other details.
Meanwhile, border checks are continuing on all vehicles entering New Brunswick – no matter where they are coming from.
Higgs said more than 2,500 vehicles have been checked since the restrictions started last Wednesday.
“This includes 1,687 commercial vehicles and 210 vehicles carrying New Brunswick who were instructed to self-isolate for 14 days. Unfortunately, officers also found 93 vehicles that were attempting to travel unnecessarily,” he said.
All unnecessary travel into New Brunswick is prohibited, and peace officers can turn away visitors when they try to enter. People who have arrived in New Brunswick since the introduction of the border checks can expect a follow-up from law enforcement officials.
Higgs also thanked New Brunswickers for their quick action and innovation to help address the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said people have had to adapt to a new way of life and make difficult choices since the state of emergency was ordered.
“Here in New Brunswick, we made the tough decision to implement these measures early on. Taking action before we’re experiencing a full impact of the pandemic may have seemed extreme at the time, but I know it was the right thing to do,” said Higgs.
“The more successful we are at flattening the curve now, the quicker we can all get back to our regular lives.”
