WINNIPEG – The Code Red crackdown has come. Eight businesses in Manitoba have been fined $5,000 each in connection with public health orders since the start of the month. The establishments include a McDonald’s franchise in the town of Neepawa and a mall food court in Brandon. Also among those who have been ticketed are two individuals who were fined $1,296 on November 4 for failing to ensure a gathering was five persons or less. The businesses fined five grand include a kitchen and bathroom supply retailer for not making sure everyone in the store was wearing a mask properly, a hotel near the airport that hadn’t closed its swimming pool yet, and a fitness centre in Brandon where officials say measures hadn’t been taken to ensure physical distancing between patrons.

Along with the province-wide increase in the pandemic response level that begins today, the Manitoba Government has increased penalties for breaking public health orders. businesses can now be fined $5,000, while individuals can be fined $1,296. Various Public Health Act orders related to preventing the transmission of Coronavirus have been in place since March 31. Since April 8 nearly 50 businesses have been either ordered closed, given tickets that held fines starting at just $486 in June, or both fined and temporarily shut down.

No matter how you feel about the rules, everyone just wants COVID-19 to be over quickly.