COVID-related complaints and violation tickets jumped dramatically in Burnaby during the crest of B.C.’s third wave of the pandemic in April, according to local police.
Burnaby RCMP’s COVID compliance enforcement team responded to 98 complaints and handed out 27 violation tickets totalling $39,330. (That’s compared to 40 complaints and six tickets in March.)
“April was the busiest month for violation tickets and complaints in Burnaby since the start of the pandemic,” media spokesperson Cpl. Brett Cunningham said.
Most of the tickets last month, 16, were issued to the organizers and hosts of non-compliant parties and events – a violation that comes with a $2,300 price tag.
On April 25, for example, police shut down a gathering of about 30 people at a house in the 4600 block of Canada Way.
The host told police the get-together had been a music release party, Cunningham said.
Eleven individuals were also fined $230 each last month for failing to wearing face coverings in public indoor spaces, and Cunningham said the RCMP is also investigating a case involving two people who went to a local restaurant just eight days after testing positive for COVID.
Since the Burnaby RCMP started sending out monthly updates in October about its COVID enforcement efforts, April has seen the most COVID-related complaints and tickets by far.
The next-highest number of complaints, 58, came in December.
Besides responding to calls from the public, the COVID compliance enforcement team also conducts proactive restaurant, lounge and business checks.
Cunningham said the team moved from an educational model to an enforcement model in the spring, which might account for an increase in tickets, but it doesn't explain the dramatic jump in complaints.
“At this time, we can only speculate as to why we are seeing an increased number of complaints in Burnaby,” Cunningham said. “We are examining whether more people are breaking the public health orders or whether Burnaby residents are simply fed up with those breaking the rules and more likely to report it."
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