People In Durham Are Now Required To Track Any & All Visitors Or Risk Facing A Hefty Fine

If you're planning on having some friends over and you're living in the Durham Region (which is anywhere from Pickering to Whitby) there are some new rules that you now need to follow.

As of September 11 at 12:01 a.m., anyone who hosts a social gathering in the area — from homeowners, tenants and owners to business operators — must conduct contract tracing of everyone who comes over. This means having a complete list of names and contact information of everyone who comes over (no matter how old they are) and holding onto that information for at least a month.

Durham Region Health Department can request that information at any time, and it'll have to be provided within 24 hours of the request or at another time specified.

All gatherings will also have to fit under the restrictions laid out by the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, which currently allows up to 25 people indoors.

Failure to comply could land you a fine of $5,000 and under for individuals or $25,000 for businesses, as specified by section 100 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act.

"The Health Department will only request this information, if necessary, during a COVID-19 investigation associated with the social gathering," Glendene Collins, manager of community and resource development at the Durham Regional Health Department, told Narcity in an email.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.