Businesses in the Leeds Grenville Lanark Health Unit region will be among the first to be inspected by the province.
The Ford government is sending hundreds of workplace inspectors across Ontario.
The provincial offence officers will be visiting retail outlets, restaurants, essential service businesses, and farms to look for breaches of COVID-19 health and safety requirements.
The provincewide safety blitz comes after inspections of big box stores last week in the Toronto area resulted in over 70 infractions.
Fines range from $750 up to $500,000 and a possible one-year prison term.
–Written by: Wendy Gray