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In the context of COVID-19, orders are currently in place under
public health and emergency legislation to close certain public
spaces, require physical distancing, and enforce self-isolation in the
case of known or suspected infections.3 The most frequent penalties
employed so far have been monetary fines,4 although court orders,
police involvement, enforced isolation, and detention are also pos-
sible in more serious cases.5 Although the health risk to the majority
of infected non-elderly individuals, particularly those in good health,
may be relatively low, the needs to safeguard the community and to
maintain a functioning health care system have been judged to be
important objectives that justify restriction on the civil liberties of the
whole community.
One of the challenges that has emerged is the proper response
in the case of people whose behaviour suggests that their failure to
comply with public health orders is because of mental illness. Some
of the ways this question arises are illustrated by the following
scenarios:
• A person known by the staff of a homeless shelter to have a
chronic psychotic disorder is refusing to follow hygiene and
distancing directives. The person is barred from the shelter to
protect other residents and staff.
• A person who is known to have a serious mental illness is
showing signs of infection. The person denies their evident
symptoms and refuses mental health treatment, as well as
testing and self-isolation.
• A person with depression and a serious substance use disor-
der is awaiting test results for suspected infection but does
not self-isolate.
3. Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, RSO 1990, c E.9; Organized PublicÂ
Events, Certain Gatherings, O Reg 52/20; Closure of Outdoor Recreational Amenities,
O Reg 104/20.
4. Josh Pringle “43 tickets issued to people in closed Ottawa parks, non-essen-
tial businesses over the weekend”, CTV News (6 April 2020), online: <ottawa.
ctvnews.ca/43-tickets-issued-to-people-in-closed-ottawa-parks-non-essential-
businesses-over-the-weekend-1.4884703>.
5. Holly Mckenzie-Sutter “Mounties could enter homes to enforce Quarantine Act
orders if Canadians don’t self-isolate”, GlobeÂ
andÂ
MailÂ
(10 April 2020), online: <www.
theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-rcmp-warns-it-will-enforce-the-quaran-
tine-act-if-canadians-dont-self/>; Isaac Olson, “Québec City police arrest COVID-
19 patient for defying quarantine”, CBC News (20 March 2020), online: <www.
cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-city-police-arrest-covid-19-1.5505349>.
VULNERABLE
The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Titel
- VULNERABLE
- Untertitel
- The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Autoren
- Vanessa MacDonnell
- Jane Philpott
- Sophie Thériault
- Sridhar Venkatapuram
- Verlag
- Ottawa Press
- Datum
- 2020
- Sprache
- englisch
- Lizenz
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- ISBN
- 9780776636429
- Abmessungen
- 15.2 x 22.8 cm
- Seiten
- 648
- Kategorien
- Coronavirus
- International