An international student at Thompson Rivers University has been fined $1,000 for repeatedly violating the federal 14-day quarantine requirement for people entering Canada.
The ticket was issued by police on Jan. 13 to the 18-year-old male student after he had been warned multiple times of the requirement by parties other than police.
RCMP Const. Crystal Evelyn said the ticket was issued as a last resort.
This was just the second ticket Kamloops Mounties have issued — the first was for a 10-person poker party this past November.
Evelyn said police prefer using education rather than ticketing when it comes to compliance with COVID-19 requirements.
She said police have been dealing with about 20 calls per week for COVID-19 related complaints, between December and Jan. 10. Most of those calls were for a lack of social distancing or not wearing masks. Police have also noted a handful of anti-mask rallies in Kamloops in recent weeks.
“Kamloops has been fortunate in that many members of the public are respecting the prevention orders from the public health authorities,” Evelyn said in an email. “The Kamloops RCMP continues to encourage everyone to voluntarily comply with the provincial health orders so ticketing is not required.”
