The time for education is over.
St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik says it's time for enforcement of public health rules at local businesses when it comes to the spread of COVID-19.
"I'm going to be asking Public Health and Niagara Regional Police, especially at nightime when they should be monitoring those places in communities like St. Catharines and Niagara Falls, and making sure that they're not breaking what we already have in place."
Sendzik's comments follow reports about a 'super-spreader' event in Niagara involving a group of people in their 20's, which has now resulted in over 40 cases of COVID-19.
Public Health reported the group, who were mostly maskless, gathered early last month at a private home and bar, then potentially spread the virus to over 100 locations in the Niagara Region involving two long-term care homes and over 40 restaurants and bars.
"Start issuing fines, fundamentally as much as I don't want to say that about a business that's struggling when it comes to dealing with what we're dealing with, if you're not following what all the other businesses are following you'll be fined."