Ottawa long-term care worker charged under Quarantine Act

Ottawa police have charged a 53-year-old long-term care home worker under the Quarantine Act after the woman returned to work four days after returning to Canada from a trip abroad.

Police didn't say where the woman works, nor what country she had returned from.

It's believed to be the first charge laid in Ottawa under the law, which requires anyone returning from another country to self-isolate for 14 days.

The maximum penalty for a summary conviction under the Quarantine Act is $300,000 and/or imprisonment for up to six months. If the Crown proceeds with an indictment, reserved for the most serious offences, a convicted person could face a fine of up to $1 million and up to three years in prison. 

Police said the woman returned to Canada on Sept. 26 and returned to work at the unidentified facility Sept. 30. Under the Quarantine Act, she should have remained at home until Oct. 9.

Police said when management at the home learned of the situation, they sent the woman home and "immediately activated mitigating self isolation and cleaning protocols and informed all persons that had been in contact with the subject."

Police said to date, no resident of the home has tested positive for COVID-19 as a result of the alleged breach.

The woman has been charged with failing to comply with an entry condition, and causing a risk of imminent death or serious bodily harm.

She is expected to appear in court Nov. 24.