RCMP issue COVID-19 tickets following Antigonish house parties

RCMP say a 23-year-old woman from Ontario was charged under the Health Protection Act for failing to self-isolate, after police attended several large house parties in Antigonish, N.S., over the weekend.

Antigonish RCMP also charged three people at parties last weekend for failing to physically distance, according to spokesperson Cpl. Lisa Croteau.

Four people were also charged under the Liquor Act and one person was charged under the Town of Antigonish municipal noise bylaw.

RCMP Sgt. Andrew Joyce said the ticket for failing to self-isolate was issued on Thursday, after an investigation related to an incident on Saturday.

Now, St. Francis Xavier University said it is also investigating the "event" last weekend.

A spokesperson for the university, Cindy MacKenzie, said in an email that any St. FX student found to have violated the school's code of conduct will be subject to the school's disciplinary process.

"Recommended outcomes are a suspension of a minimum academic term, up to a maximum of a full year, depending on the specifics of each case," MacKenzie said. "We take this matter very seriously."

St. FX students were required to sign a code of conduct waiver before they could attend classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

All university students returning to Nova Scotia from outside of the Atlantic bubble also had to quarantine for two weeks before classes began, but several university students across the province have been fined and one student was even expelled for failing to do so.