SUDBURY -- Ontario Provincial Police in Kirkland Lake have charged 35 people in three separate incidents for violating emergency orders in the province aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.

In one incident, 23 people attending a house party May 9 on Harding Avenue were all charged with breaking the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA).

Two of the 23 were also charged with obstructing police, contrary to the criminal code. The host of the party was also charged separately under the Reopening Ontario Act.

In another incident, eight people attending an anti-lockdown rally at Kinross Pond on May 1 were charged for violating the EMCPA.

And four more people were charged May 8, when police conducted a traffic stop on Highway 112 in Otto Township.

"There were four individuals in the motor vehicle and the investigation revealed that they were from different households and travelling for non-essential purpose," police said.

"The OPP is doing its part to support the Ontario Government's Health Emergency Declaration to limit the transmission of COVID-19. It is important that the public understands that there are consequences for individuals who defy the EMCPA and the ROA order that in place."