Complaints about Torontonians purportedly flouting coronavirus rules — ones that grew even stricter this weekend — are keeping Toronto’s 311 operators busy, with some callers even wanting to submit video and photo evidence.

On Friday and Saturday, the city’s 311 hotline received about 700 COVID-19 “enforcement-type inquiries,” including calls from people concerned about others not keeping apart by the recommended two metres while using parks, trails and green spaces, according to Alex Burke, a senior communications adviser with the city.

There were also calls about an “outdoor gathering of families and friends” and a crew at a construction site not practising social distancing.

Some callers wanted to report non-essential businesses allegedly disobeying the order to close, including a barbershop, a furniture store and a bar “letting patrons enter from side door.” Others complained about price gouging, such as a store allegedly selling a box of masks for $70, something Premier Doug Ford vowed to crack down on over the weekend.

On Saturday, Ford announced that the province was taking “stronger action” to stop the spread of COVID-19 by prohibiting gatherings of more than five people, replacing a previous emergency order making it illegal for groups of 50 people to gather. The emergency orders will remain in place until March 31, when the province will reassess for an extension or end of the closures.

City of Toronto spokesperson Brad Ross said that on Sunday the 311 calls are being “centralized by our Emergency Operations Centre for response and action.” (311 call volumes during the work week have spiked — the number usually receives about 3,000 calls per day at this time of year, but the average number has increased to 4,000, and jumped as high as 4,600.)

Police and others with designated enforcement powers have the discretion to issue fines under the provincial Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. Those fines include a $750 charge against someone who has failed to comply “with an order made during a declared emergency.” It’s unclear if any such fines have been imposed.

“We have confidence that Ontarians will follow the medical advice and follow the emergency orders issued,” Stephen Warner, press secretary for the office of Solicitor General Sylvia Jones, wrote in email Sunday.

The new provincial five-person limit comes with some exceptions. They include private households with five people or more, and child-care centres still open to tend to the kids of front-line health-care workers and first responders, provided the number of persons at each centre does not exceed 50 people.

“But just to have a party or have a social gathering, that’s unacceptable,” Ford told reporters.

The order’s scope also includes weddings, yet the previous provincial order closing all non-essential workplaces means the reduction from 50 to five will have no extra immediate effect, Irene Hryniuk, CEO of Old Mill Toronto Hospitality Inc., said Sunday. The Old Mill, a popular venue in Etobicoke for weddings and other social gatherings, closed its doors March 17 after Ford announced the closure of all non-essential services in the province.

“We were impacted Day One,” she said Sunday.

Fortunately, March isn’t the height of wedding season, said Hryniuk, so only a handful — and a couple of baby showers — have had to be rescheduled. “Ninety-nine per cent of customers are ‘postpone, find a different date, and wait.’”

One of the exceptions Ford announced was for funerals, which are permitted to proceed with up to 10 people at a time. The funeral and bereavement industry had already introduced more stringent rules by limiting on-site attendance to 10 or fewer people, not counting funeral staff, said David Brazeau, communications manager with Bereavement Authority of Ontario, the industry regulator.

Allan Cole, owner and president of MacKinnon and Bowes Ltd., said there will be no need for funeral homes to do head counts of mourners because services are already being “regrettably altered” from the norm.

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Many services have either been reduced to small numbers, or have moved outside for graveside services “because funeral homes are not anxious to receive families into the building and create an opportunity for transmission.” His company provides services, such as vehicles and pallbearers, to funeral-home operators throughout Ontario.

“For the most part,” said Cole, “I think you’re seeing scaled-back versions of simple ceremonies ... with very, very few family members are present,” but that still reflect “the dignity and appropriateness, given the current challenges we’re facing.”

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