People venturing out for a walk or en route to work will not have to worry about being stopped by police for simply being outside of their home.
London's mayor and police chief clarified enforcement rules surrounding the province's new stay-at-home order Thursday afternoon.
"We will not enter a home, stop a vehicle, or stop a person for the singular purpose of checking compliance with the order," Chief Steve Williams said in a statement. "Our enforcement will continue to be largely complaint-driven, or in instances where our officers observe something that contravenes the order, putting our community at risk. Our objective will continue to be to act in the interest of community safety."
Williams added that enforcing the restrictions, that came into effect Thursday, will be done in partnership with City of London bylaw officers.
Mayor Ed Holder also did his best to calm fears about enforcement of the order while also encouraging everyone to abide by it.
"We are by no means living in a police state. However, let me be clear, we are living under a state of emergency, and for good reason," Holder said during a virtual COVID-19 briefing. "The overriding message from the premier is clear. Unless it is for something absolutely essential, stay home. That's it. It is very straight forward."
Under the order aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19, people are only to leave their home for essential purposes. That includes for grocery shopping, medical appointments, work that can't be done remotely, and for outdoor exercise. Outdoor gatherings have also been lowered from ten people to just five.
"The primary concern should not be 'if I do this, will I get a ticket?' It should be 'is this activity worth the risk that I or someone else might get infected with COVID,'" said Holder. "We are not in a good place right now. Hospital capacity and health-care resources are being stretched desperately thin and in some parts of Ontario they are already overwhelmed."
If police do end up writing a ticket for a violation of the stay-at-home order, Ontario's solicitor general has said they can then ask for a person's name, age, and address.
Fines for violating the order start at $750 and can go as high as $100,000 for an individual and up to $10 million for a corporation. Failure to follow the rules can also result in one year in jail.
