Seite - 439 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

439Weighing Public Health and Mental Health Responses to Non-Compliance… pandemic.12 While these reports do not involve people with mental ill- ness, they do reflect an environment of heightened stress and intoler- ance of perceived risk and norm-breaking behaviour. Behaviour that appears unpredictable or aggressive may also increase the risk of con- flict with law enforcement during the pandemic.13 Thus, in light of the vulnerabilities they face as a group, along with current public health requirements, people with mental illness may be at increased risk of experiencing or causing novel forms of harm during the pandemic. The risks will differ based on the per- son’s individual mental and physical health, whether he or she is infected with the coronavirus or not, and the specific nature of his or her behaviour. How Does the Mental Health Act Apply to These Risks? We now consider how Ontario’s mental health legislation would respond to the kinds of harms and scenarios described above, involv- ing a failure to follow public health directives. Public health authori- ties have determined that the coronavirus poses a serious threat to public health, but would the risk of contracting or transmitting it fit within the types of risks to which the mental health legislation seeks to respond by involuntary hospitalization? The mental health law attempts to strike a balance between the civil liberties of people with mental illnesses and the use of state power to forcibly intervene to protect them and others from risk of harm resulting from their mental illness. Ontario’s Mental Health Act allows involuntary hospitalization against a person’s will in one of two types of situations: 12. Lucy Quaggin, “Coronavirus update: NSW Health Minister announces mas- sive fine for those abusing frontline workers”, 7  News (9 April 2020), online: <7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/coronavirus-update-nsw-health-min- ister-announces-massive-fine-for-those-abusing-frontline-workers-c-967171>; Matt Loffman, “Asian Americans describe ‘gut punch’ of racist attacks during coronavirus pandemic”, PBS (7 April 2020), online: <www.pbs.org/newshour/ nation/asian-americans-describe-gut-punch-of-racist-attacks-during-corona- virus-pandemic>; Lily Kuo & Helen Davidson, “‘They see my blue eyes then jump back’–China sees new wave of xenophobia”, The  Guardian  (29 March 2020), online: <www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/29/china-coronavirus-anti-for- eigner-feeling-imported-cases>; Jacquie Miller, “Virus vigilantes: ‘My neighbour isn’t self-isolating’”, Ottawa  Citizen  (2 April 2020), online: <ottawacitizen.com/ news/local-news/virus-vigilantes-my-neighbour-isnt-self-isolating/>. 13. Pringle, supra note 4.