"We'll be expanding that in the days and weeks to come across the whole province," McNaughton said in a telephone interview. "We're going to continue targeting bad actors and we'll continue issuing fines and close them down if we have to."
The initial blitz involved 50 inspectors fanning out across
McNaughton said big-box stores would remain a key target during the provincewide expansion. The ministry issued a document late last week saying inspections would also involve workplaces which reported COVID-19 outbreaks and businesses focused on manufacturing, warehousing, distribution centres and food processing.
Word of the expansion comes amid growing pressure to quell soaring COVID-19 case counts across
The province reported 3,422 new cases of COVID-19 and another 69 deaths on Sunday, up more than 10 per cent from levels recorded the day before.
The bulk of the most recent diagnoses remain in
Meanwhile, the
The city said only residents, staff and essential caregivers at long-term care homes and high-risk retirement homes would continue to get their initial shots after Pfizer-BioNTech announced it was delaying international shipments of its vaccine while upgrading facilities in
Those who have already received an initial dose will receive their booster, it said.
A spokeswoman for the Minister of Health did not say how many regions received a similar directive or why first doses of the
And as the vaccine rollout continues at a slightly slower pace, McNaughton said he was hopeful the weekend enforcement blitz would help reign in numbers of new infections.
The inspectors visited 110 retailers on Saturday alone and found 31 violations of COVID-19 protocols, he said, noting that amounts to a compliance rate of just over 70 per cent.
They issued 11 formal warnings and 11 tickets, he added.
McNaughton said he'd hoped the compliance rate would be much higher.
"Every business, every supervisor and every worker out there has to do more today than at any point during this pandemic to keep people safe and to be vigilant," he said.
The blitz, which continued Sunday, is part of an array of measures the province unveiled in recent days to toughen its approach to COVID-19.
Stores selling non-essential goods have been forced to temporarily close and operate solely through e-commerce and curbside pickups.
The most common violations inspectors found big box stores contravening were linked to screening of customers and staff, masking protocols and physical distancing problems, McNaughton said.
It is in the process of hiring an additional 100 health and safety inspectors and doubling the number of phone lines at the provincial Health and Safety Contact Centre, where violations can be reported.
Individuals found violating the
This report by
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version carried an incorrect spelling of
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