2 charged with assault for coughing on others

New Brunswick police say men allegedly failed to self-isolate following trip abroad

KENNEBECASIS, N.B. — Two men in New Brunswick who recently travelled to the Dominican Republic are facing charges in a bizarre case involving allegations both suspects purposely coughed on neighbours in a rooming house.

Police said they responded to a call Thursday morning from a residence in Rothesay, where an individual had complained that two other people had allegedly failed to isolate themselves after returning home from abroad.

“When we did our investigation, it was revealed that both had coughed on the other individuals in the house,” Wayne Gallant, chief of the Kennebecasis Regional Police Force, said Friday. “They’ve both been charged with (assault).”

The ugly incident came to light as health officials in the Atlantic region reported 51 additional cases of COVID-19.

In Kennebecasis, police Insp. Anika Becker said one of the accused in the Rothesay case doesn’t live at the home in question, but his travelling companion does.

Becker said another occupant of the home — a 41-year-old man — had complained about the pair’s failure to self isolate, as required by New Brunswick law. That’s when the coughing started, Becker said.

Under the province’s rules for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, anyone who returns to New Brunswick after travelling abroad must self-isolate for 14 days.

The province declared a state of emergency March 19 after Premier Blaine Higgs said too few citizens were following orders to avoid public gatherings.

“If anyone has concerns that someone is not self-isolating properly, they should not take matters in their own hands,” Kennebecasis police said in a statement, adding that the province has established a toll-free phone line for people to report non-compliance.

In another incident on Thursday, police in western Newfoundland said a woman had been arrested for a second time after allegedly refusing to stay inside following her return from travel outside the province.

The 53-year-old was arrested in Corner Brook a day after she was released from custody for contravening orders under Newfoundland and Labrador’s Public Health Protection and Promotion Act.

She could be fined between $500 and $2,500 or jailed for up to six months.

Meanwhile, in Quebec City, police arrested a woman last week who they said had contracted the novel coronavirus and was walking outside after being ordered to stay indoors.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, health officials reported 20 additional confirmed cases of COVID19 on Friday, which meant the total number of cases stood at 102 — the highest in the Atlantic region.

As well, they said one infected person had been admitted to hospital — a first for the province.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said 68 cases were linked to exposures at a funeral home in St. John’s between March 15 and 17.