Surrey RCMP issues $17,000 in COVID-19 restriction fines in one week

The Surrey RCMP says it issued 18 violation tickets totalling nearly $17,000 in fines to people breaking COVID-19 restrictions last week.

Police said most of the fines, issued between April 7 and April 11, were related to people breaking public health orders against indoor gatherings.

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Five of the tickets were issued after complaints of gatherings in private homes, including one where 22 people were found gathered in a residence in Newton.

That call landed the resident a $2,300 fine.

Indoor social gatherings have been banned since November, and the province is encouraging people to socialize outdoors as a safer alternative.

On April 10, police caught people dining in a restaurant in the 9400 block of 120 street, a violation of “circuit breaker” restrictions implemented last month which ban indoor dining.

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RCMP said it was the second violation at the restaurant, and that it flagged the business to Fraser Health.

Several tickets were issued April 11 to a man who allegedly refused to wear a mask in a store in the 7300-block of King George Boulevard. Police said when they attended, the man was “uncooperative” and “continued to cause a disturbance.” He was ticketed for failure to wear a mask in an indoor public place, failure to comply with direction, and abusive or belligerent behaviour.

Despite the new restrictions issued last month, B.C. continues to report near-record new COVID-19 case counts.

Health officials reported another 1,168 new cases Wednesday, along with a record number of people hospitalized with the virus.