Ottawa bylaw officers will now be handing out fines, not warnings, to any individual or business flaunting the city’s indoor mask requirements amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The bylaw department of Ottawa stated that the “warning phase” is ending for the city’s temporary mask rules, first set in mid-July and recently expanded to at least the end of October.
Those who refuse to wear a face mask in an indoor public setting will now be subject to a possible $240 fine and any operator found to not comply with the mask requirements could face a $490 fine.
Anyone with a medical exemption to wearing a face mask will not be fined. Before now, bylaw officers had been instructed to take an educational approach to enforce the new rules.
Ottawa expanded its mask bylaw roughly three weeks ago to include the common space of apartment buildings and some outdoor spaces where large gatherings make physical distancing impossible.
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https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51205344
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/about-face-coverings.html