Premier François Legault says he is asking police officers to hand out more fines to people who defy COVID-19 rules across the province of Quebec.
Legault made the announcement at a news conference on Wednesday, just a few hours after the province reported the second-highest COVID-19 daily increase since the pandemic began.
According to Santé Quebec, the province registered 1,728 new cases and 37 new virus-related deaths over the past twenty-four hours. Meanwhile, the number of hospitalizations now stands at 844, 121 of whom are in intensive care.
“Enough is enough,” Legault said at Wednesday’s news conference. “I want to crank (up) the number of tickets and that’s what I told police.”
Fines for anyone who breaks the rules can go as high as $6,000, he noted.
The Quebec government has now said on multiple occasions that it's not ruling out stricter rules. When asked if Quebec will go into another full lockdown, the Premier responded by saying "that's in the hands of Quebecers."
The total number of deaths due to COVID-19 in the province is now 7,349.
