Moe favours fines over restrictions as COVID-19 cases rise

Fall in line or you could be fined.

That was the message from Saskatchewan Party leader Scott Moe Saturday as the province faces an increase of COVID-19 cases to start October.

“Almost everyone is doing a great job of following the public health guidelines that Dr. Shahab and his office have put forward – almost everyone,” he said following a campaign announcement. “There are very few that are not.”

The province reported an additional 34 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, the fifth consecutive day of 10 or more cases.

Moe said he’s heard of people refusing to isolate after returning from travels abroad, as well as seeing photos circulating online of the Full Gospel Outreach Centre in Prince Albert, where an outbreak was declared earlier this week. Moe called the photos “rather upsetting.”

“It’s upsetting to see the actions of just a select few people actually jeopardize the collective efforts of the overwhelming majority of Saskatchewan residents who are following the public health guidelines in order to protect themselves, to protect those in their community and to protect their family,” Moe said.

A media release from the Ministry of Health on Saturday reminded people about the importance of following public health orders and guidelines.

“There can be very serious consequences for not following Public Health Orders, including fines. Fines may be $2,000 for individuals and $10,000 for corporations, plus a victim surcharge,” the release read.

While Moe stated the intentions of the Saskatchewan Health Authority isn’t to issue fines, he supports that strategy rather than reintroducing restrictions or introducing new measures like a mandatory mask policy across the province.

“There’s not active consideration around increasing measures, there is active consideration all the time around enforcing the measures that are in place, and we may see some of that in the days ahead,” Moe said after revealing most outbreaks can be traced back to people violating recommendations.

“We will see what public health does with the orders that they have in place, and we would support if they move with fines.”

With hockey nearing a total return to play, Moe hinted that it could be one of the first things to be restricted if active cases continue to increase and cannot be managed.

“If we got into a challenging situation, it isn’t going to be schools or the sectors of the economy that we go to first, it’s going to be those recreational activities,” he said.

With winter fast approaching, Moe is warning that having more people indoors will force more and more people to pay attention and ensure that people are behaving safely to curb the spread of COVID-19.