KITCHENER -- Four new charges have been laid in Waterloo Region in the last week over people not adhering to provincial COVID-19 restrictions.
The region's Chief Administrative Officer, Mike Murray, announced the new charges at a Wednesday morning news conference.
The new charges were given in each of the tri-cities. Officials say they were given in the following settings:
- A nail salon in Kitchener
- A private residence in Waterloo that had more than five people gathered
- Two instances in a public space in Cambridge where too many people were gathered in one place
The charges come following a sunny weekend where temperatures approached 20 degrees Celsius.
Six other charges have been laid to date, bringing the total number to 10.
The other businesses that have been charged to date include another nail salon, a tattoo parlour and a vape shop.
In one instance, a 19-year-old man playing basketball at McLennan Park was ticketed $750 for refusing to leave a closed court.
Another person was also charged after a gathering in Cambridge, where police say a man refused to comply with what officers were asking.
From April 28 to May 4, the region saw 1,094 contacts from the public. These contacts include emails, phone calls and other responses.
Of those, 670 instances involved a site visit by a public health inspector or by-law enforcement officer. These resulted in education and warnings.
In 360 cases, no action was required: either there was no infraction going on or there was nothing there by the time regional officials arrived.
As of Wednesday, there have been 871 cases of COVID-19 reported in Waterloo Region.
That number includes 395 cases that have been resolved and 94 deaths.
