VANCOUVER -- A woman has received two hefty fines totalling nearly $7,000 for breaking COVID-19 quarantine, West Vancouver police say.
In a news release Wednesday, police said a 59-year-old woman was handed two fines of $3,450 each last week.
Local officers were notified by Public Health Agency of Canada that she may have been breaking her quarantine.
PHAC alleged the woman, who had come into Canada at the Pacific Highway Border Crossing on March 4, didn't give "an adequate negative COVID-19 test upon arrival" and that she visited someone at Lions Gate Hospital not long after entering the country.
Then, on March 5 at 1:20 p.m., a West Vancouver officer went to the home she was supposed to be quarantining at and found the woman returning from a walk.
Police say the woman claimed she was exempt from quarantine, but didn't produce any official documentation proving her exemption. Police also say the woman has a Canadian passport but couldn't confirm she lives permanently in West Vancouver.
She was fined once for the allegations made by PHAC and a second time for breaking quarantine as observed by the officer that day. In total, the two fines came to $6,900.
"This is a stark reminder that we all have a responsibility to slow the spread of COVID-19," says Const. Kevin Goodmurphy.
"There are strict government guidelines that specify how a person must quarantine upon entry to Canada, which includes a requirement to travel directly to their address of quarantine and to remain there for 14 days."
The West Vancouver Police Department told CTV News its officers have handed out 12 Quarantine Act violation tickets since the start of the pandemic.
Province-wide, 101 Quarantine Act violation tickets have been handed out from the start of the pandemic up to March 2, which is when officials most recently released data.
