POLICE in the Fermanagh and Omagh District have taken Covid-19 enforcement action a total of 342 times from March, 2020 to midnight on Sunday, January 3, 2021.

The stats are issued weekly by the PSNI, and are broken down into the following types of enforcement.

COV1 Penalty Notices; COV2 Commercial or Private Prohibition Notices issued to licensed premises or for restriction of gatherings in a private dwelling; COV3 Failure to Isolate; COV4 Penalty Notices (COV4 now replaces COV1, with fines starting at £200); COV5 Penalty Notice issued to a business and/or premises for breach of the regulations (starting at £1,000, to a max of £10,000); and Community Resolution Notices (CRNs).

In the Fermanagh and Omagh District from that 2020-2021 period inclusive, there were a total of 95 COV1 penalty notices issued.

In total, there were 21 COV2 Commercial Prohibition Notices issued to licensed premises in the period.

This was one more than recorded in the previous reporting week, March, 2020 to midnight on Sunday, December 27, 2020.

A total of 32 COV2 Private Prohibition Notices were issued for restriction of gatherings in a private dwelling. This was six more than recorded in the previous reporting week.

Three people were issued £1,000 COV3 Failure to Isolate fines from March, 2020 in this district.

A total of 100 COV4 Penalty Notices, with fines starting at £200, were issued from March, 2020 – this was 27 more than recorded in the previous reporting week, which had a total figure of 73.

Two COV5 Penalty Notices in total have been issued to businesses and/or premises for breach of the regulations (starting at £1,000 to a max of £10,000) in the Fermanagh and Omagh District since March, 2020, while a total of 90 CRNs have been issued.

Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd said: “I want to take the opportunity to thank the vast majority of people who are being responsible, and who are doing their bit and continuing to take this virus seriously as we navigate our way through this pandemic.

“However, it is really disappointing to see that there are still people not taking the risk of this virus seriously.

“Enforcement action was taken by officers right across Northern Ireland over the past week. It is vitally important that people take the time to understand what is and is not permitted under the new regulations, what is advised by way of guidance, and to take personal responsibility for stopping the spread of this virus.

“We will continue with our partnership approach, working closely with our colleagues at the Department of Health, Public Health Agency and the Northern Ireland Executive."

He continued: "Where people do not follow the Health Protection Regulations, our approach will remain the same.

"We will engage with people, first explaining the guidance and the law, and encourage people to do the right thing.

"However, where we are left with no choice but to enforce, we will take this measure in order to protect the most vulnerable members of our communities and help protect our NHS,” he said.