Random checks show most following pandemic rules, says Morrison

Increased enforcement of pandemic restrictions on P.E.I. announced last week is not leading to more penalties but showing that most people are following the rules, says Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison.

The new measures included random checks at the doorstep of people who are supposed to be self-isolating.

"We want to be sure that people who are supposed to be self-isolating are in fact doing so," said Morrison.

"The early results of this work confirm that most people do follow the rules."

There were 55 random checks last week, she said. For 52, everything was in order, but three of those checks have led to further investigation of whether the people involved were following the rules.

Morrison said it is too early to say if anyone will be charged.

Over the holidays, with cases piling up in the rest of the country and a lot of people travelling, it is especially important that people self-isolate properly when they get to Prince Edward Island,Morrison said.

"I plead with anyone travelling to P.E.I. over the holidays or returning from travel to adhere to the self-isolation rules," she said.

"No one wants to be responsible for transmitting COVID-19 to their loved ones."

With the exception of certain essential workers and rotational workers, everyone arriving in P.E.I. must self-isolate for two weeks. They must remain on the isolationproperty and not receive any visitors.

Restaurant/retail checks

Some restaurants and retail stores were also subject to random checks for pandemic restriction compliance over the weekend, Morrison said.

Thirty-two businesses were inspected over the weekend to ensure they were following current public health measures, including capacity limits.Twenty-six were in full compliance, but six were found to have problems.

"Most of these issues relate to operators not being aware of how many people were in their spaces," said Morrison.

"The inspectors helped the operators to determine the capacity for their space and recommended that individuals be assigned to monitor how many people were entering and leaving the establishment."

Follow-up visits have been scheduled for the six businesses where problems were found.

Border troubles

On another topic, Morrison said she was disturbed to hear stories about the behaviour of some people arriving on P.E.I.

"It has been upsetting to hear that on occasion the border screening and enforcement staff have been subjected to very unkind remarks and gestures," she said.

Morrison thanked the staff for working through those incidents, and for their continued commitment to keeping Islanders safe.

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