A Merlin man has been charged in relation to a large gathering that allegedly took place at a Chatham-Kent church the same day Ontario entered a province-wide lockdown.
Around 11 a.m. Saturday, Chatham-Kent police responded to the report of a large gathering at the Old Colony Mennonite Church in Wheatley.
According to police, officers observed over 100 unmasked people inside the church. As of 12:01 a.m. Saturday, the province-wide shutdown took effect, which only allows for religious services to have a maximum of 10 people indoors. The municipal by-law also states that masks are required during worship.
Police said a member of the church, a 50-year-old man from Merlin, took responsibility for the gathering and was charged with failing to comply with a continued section 7.0.2 order, contrary to section 10(1)(a) of the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020.
The man will be required to attend court on January 27, 2021.
According to police, everyone in attendance complied with the officers' requests to end the church service early and leave the property.
"Chatham-Kent Police would like to remind everyone that restrictions have been implemented by the provincial government to halt the spread of COVID-19," read a media release. "As a community, it’s imperative that everyone does their part to keep the citizens of Chatham-Kent safe and healthy."