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A church in Wheatley had indoor congregations of 100 unmasked people on two consecutive days, says the Chatham-Kent Police Service.
According to police, the large gatherings took place in the Old Colony Mennonite Church at 22046 Wheatley Rd. on Dec. 26 and Dec. 27.
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Officers went to the location around 11 a.m. on both days in response to reports from the public.
The gatherings were ongoing when officers arrived. No masks were being worn on either day.
Two men charged after two church services with more than 100 unmasked people: Chatham-Kent police
Chatham-Kent police have charged two men, a 50-year-old and 43-year-old, from a church in Wheatley for holding back-to-back church services with more than 100 unmasked people over the weekend.
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Posted: Dec 28, 2020 11:15 AM ET | Last Updated: December 28, 2020
The Old Colony Mennonite Church in Wheatley held two separate gatherings back-to-back with more than 100 unmasked people over the weekend. (Elvis Nouemsi Njike/ Radio-Canada)
Last Updated Monday, December 28, 2020 1:45PM EST WHEATLEY, Ont. Police have laid charges after they say large gatherings were held two days in a row in a Wheatley, Ont., church this weekend. Chatham-Kent Police say they found more than 100 people without masks inside the church at both times. Police say a 50-year-old man from Merlin, Ont., was charged over the gathering at Old Colony Mennonite Church on Saturday. They say another man from Merlin was charged over a gathering at the same church the next morning. Both men were charged with failing to comply with the Reopening Ontario Act, which limits religious gatherings to 10 people indoors or outdoors during lockdown.
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Police have laid charges after they say large gatherings were held two days in a row in a Wheatley, Ont., church this weekend.
Chatham-Kent Police say they found more than 100 people without masks inside the church at both times.
Police say a 50-year-old man from Merlin, Ont., was charged over the gathering at Old Colony Mennonite Church on Saturday.
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Ontario reported 2,005 cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, marking the 13th straight day the province has seen upwards of 2,000 new diagnoses.
The province also announced another 18 deaths linked to the virus.
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It says 823 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Sunday, including 285 people in intensive care and 194 on ventilators.
Also Sunday, the province announced it had detected its third case of a contagious new strain of the virus that causes COVID-19.
Public Health Ontario says the patient is from the Ottawa area, and recently returned from the U.K., where the coronavirus variant was first discovered.