Yahoo Finance 'If you’re going to look for loopholes there'll be consequences': B.C. premier calls out people who do not follow COVID-19 rules
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At a press conference on Tuesday, British Columbia Premier John Horgan had stern words for people who choose to not follow COVID-19 rules, promising officials will work to hold rule breakers accountable.
Horgan said everyone has the right to due process and the right to appeal any fines but, “once that due process has been finalized, if you do not pay the fines we will send collections after you.”
“This is serious, this is not a lark, this is not something we do lightly,” Horgan said. “Those who do not want to obey the rules that the rest of us are following will have to pay the consequences.”
“I don’t believe you can put a price on public safety, particularly as we come to this very difficult second wave of global pandemic... If you’re going to look for loopholes there’ll be consequences for that.”
‘We’re going to have to be patient’
The B.C. premier’s comments come as the province begins its initial COVID-19 vaccinations in healthcare workers, with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Horgan said people in B.C. have to “redouble” their efforts to follow public health guidance to ensure the COVID-19 vaccine can be distributed to as many people as possible. He highlighted that B.C. is doing much better than Alberta, which has seen 7,000 more COVID-19 cases than B.C. in the past seven days.
In terms of prioritization of future vaccine doses, Horgan said the scarcity of the supply will impact who gets vaccinated, and when, but the upcoming Moderna vaccine will be easier to work with, particularly in terms of transportation into different communities.
“Our priorities will be on the areas where we have community transmission,” Horgan said. “We’re going to, with the Pfizer vaccine, focus on healthcare providers.”
“As we get Moderna and other vaccines that are easier to transport, and we can use effectively, we’ll then move into long-term care facilities and then start moving down the line...We’re going to have to be patient and rely on the good judgement of those who are making these determinations.”
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