There were no charges against Newmarket businesses for violating public health rules during the first week of Ontario's state of emergency, however, York Region's enforcement task force laid 45 charges against retailers and restaurants across the region.
In Aurora, Centra Food Mart was charged with not having adequate physical distancing and not monitoring its capacity.
Multiple Aurora restaurants were also charged, including CrepeStar Dessert Cafe for allowing indoor dining and Regino's Pizza Store for having an employee with no mask. A Subway location on Yonge Street was also fined for having an employee with no mask, no capacity sign posted, and no safety plan.
Five different Shoppers Drug Marts in Markham were hit with $880 fines for the same problem at each location: not sanitizing the self-checkout terminals after every use.
Four of the region's Walmarts also ran afoul of inspectors. Two locations in Markham and Richmond Hill were charged with not cleaning and disinfecting enough; another in Richmond Hill was hit for improper mask use by employees.
A Walmart in Vaughan is facing multiple charges of being overcrowded and failing to operate in compliance with instructions from public health officials.
Four No Frills grocery stores were also fined this past week. Three locations in Markham were found not to be cleaning and disinfecting enough, while the location in Richmond Hill had an employee not wearing a mask.
Two Food Basics in Markham were fined for not cleaning enough and not sanitizing self-checkout terminals, respectively.
Newmarket bylaw officers performed 165 inspections and issued 174 education notices.
Overall, there were 1,928 inspections carried out, 45 charges laid, and 653 education notices issued from Jan. 11 to 17:
- 11 charges issued by York Region Public Health
- 1 charge issued by York Region Transit
- 7 charges issued by York Regional Police
- 5 charges issued by the Town of Aurora
- 13 charge issued by the City of Markham
- 3 charges issued by the City of Richmond Hill
- 1 charge issued by the City of Vaughan
A complete list of charges and closures is available on york.ca/COVID19
