Social distancing scofflaws

Councillor worried some are abusing relaxed restrictions

As Ashley Arsenault soaked up the sun with her roommate at the Halifax Common on Sunday, she thought she had missed an update from the Nova Scotia government.

“Quite a few people had the same idea and looked like they were social distancing at first glance,” Arsenault said.

“Then as we sat there, we noticed some people meeting up to watch the Snowbirds together and I thought, wait, am I missing something here? Did the rules change?”

While Nova Scotia reopened its parks, trails and community gardens on Friday as it eased some outdoor and recreational restrictions around the COVID-19 pandemic, the order prohibiting gatherings of more than five people and the two-metre social distancing rule remains in place.

But Coun. Richard Zurawski said some people tossed those measures out the window once outdoor spaces reopened.

On Saturday, the District 12 (Timberlea-beechville-clayton Park) councillor went for a walk in the Blue Mountain Birch Cove Wilderness area, where he encountered several people not following social distancing.

“There was a group, probably of a dozen folks, who behaved as though there was no COVID,” Zurawski, who posted his frustration on Facebook, said in a phone interview Monday.

Theresa Hill noticed some similar behaviour at Shubenacadie Park in Dartmouth, where a person walked within inches of her, despite her moving to the side of the trail.

“Most were social distancing, but there's always that one person who doesn't listen,” Hill said.

Premier Stephen Mcneil acknowledged the importance of getting outdoors for recreation for people's mental and physical health late last week, but noted "if we see an increase in positive cases or people not continuing to adhere to all the public health measures, the restrictions will return."

Despite such warnings, Halifax Regional Police issued seven tickets for violations of the Health Protection Act over the weekend.

In total, the police force has issued 159 Covid-related tickets since the province declared a state of emergency on March 22.

Zurawski said while he's surprised some people aren't abiding by social distancing, he's also not surprised.

“There are always going to be people to whom rules don't apply or they feel they can get away with it or something, but this isn't about getting a speeding ticket or being penalized in some fashion,” Zurawski said.

“It's not good enough that 50 or 60 or 70 per cent of folks adhere to the rules. We need almost 100 per cent compliance in order to deal with this,” he said.

“For many people, as we've seen, it can be life or death, and for social distancing to be treated so cavalierly was very distressing for me.”

RYAN TAPLIN • THE CHRONICLE HERALD A family obeying the one-household rule for outdoor activities passes by a bed of daffodils in the Halifax Public Gardens during a rainy morning stroll on Monday.