Complaints of social-distancing infractions in Toronto fell by more than a third on the first day of a new ticketing blitz that threatened violators with $1,000 fines, Mayor John Tory said Sunday.

The numbers dipped to 186 on Saturday from 300 on Friday, Tory told the Star.

“And to me, that’s a combination of two things; one is more and more people getting the message,” he said, adding that the warm temperatures Saturday made weather an unlikely cause for the drop.

“And, secondly, I think when they did hear that there was going to be more enforcement, a lot of people, that got their attention.”

Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders announced at a High Park news conference Saturday that the social-distancing task force, with 160 dedicated officers, would no longer be issuing cautions for people coming within two metres of each other in parks and public squares and, instead, be issuing tickets.

People from the same household and contact deemed accidental are exempt.

The force had issued some 2,500 warnings since early April — when new COVID-19 bylaws ushering in the two-metre rule were enacted in what Saunders called an educational program.

Officers issued 48 tickets Saturday for the use of closed park amenities and not practising physical distancing, according to a City of Toronto news release.

“I’d like to think (the drop) was more about the educational aspect and I think the dividends of the educational efforts undertaken by the bylaw and police (were obvious),” Tory said.

Tory, who had been calling for stricter measures for several days, said social distancing is key to keeping the spread of COVID-19 down.

He said he expected the measures would likely be in place to the end of June.

“The numbers may look better now and again,” he said. “But we’ve still got a lot to do in the context of stopping the spread of this.”