TORONTO – Ontario will embark on a barrage of inspections at businesses tomorrow to make sure they are following public health measures as COVID-19 cases rise.
The Labor Ministry says 150 provincial crime officers will be deployed to Ontario.
They will focus their efforts on big box stores, bars, beauty salons and other high-risk settings, making sure companies enforce distancing requirements, verify vaccination certificates and follow other health rules.
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Prime Minister Doug Ford and Dr. Kieran Moore to make the announcement Friday
The ministry says officers must take an “education first approach” to enforcing the law, but will not hesitate to fine repeat offenders and those who willfully disobey the rules.
Ontario is currently grappling with a wave of COVID-19 cases fueled by the highly contagious Omicron variant, believed to be four to eight times more infectious than the Delta variant that triggered the latest wave of the pandemic.
The province says recent inspection data shows that most businesses follow public health standards.
© 2021 The Canadian Press
Reference-globalnews.ca