CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS LOOSENED FOR FULLY VACCINATED PEOPLE
Tansi!
New OIC-313-2021-7
As the pandemic is still not over the State of Emergency has been extended to June 25, 2021. We continue to monitor and review the spread of the virus, the vaccination numbers locally and elsewhere in Manitoba and adjust the restrictions necessary to keep our community safe.
We thank everyone for their continued co-operation as we all navigate this pandemic. Please remember that even with the vaccine we are not protected 100% so following all the other public health measures remains very important (e.g. masking, physical distancing, sanitizing, frequent hand washing, not sharing personal items and limiting contacts).
Lifting Certain Restrictions for Fully Vaccinated Residents
Today, we are very pleased to announce that as the vaccination rates have increased and the number of active cases in most parts of the north remain low, fully vaccinated persons living in our community will no longer have to comply with certain restrictions.
A fully vaccinated person means all eligible persons 12 and over who have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine approved by Health Canada and it is at least two weeks since the person received their second dose.
These persons will be issued a vaccine certificate in an approved format by the NCN Director of Health or designate. In the meantime, the blue vaccination card signed by the vaccinator or a copy of vaccine verification printed from your Shared Health Manitoba account can be presented at the checkstop as proof you meet the qualifications of being fully vaccinated. The Wellness Centre can provide you with a print out of your vaccine record if you can’t access it.
We plan to utilize this process on an ongoing basis until the pandemic is finally determined to be over or public health advises that it is sufficiently under control given vaccination rates in the overall population.
Please get vaccinated as soon as possible to protect yourself, your loved ones and our community. The sooner we are all vaccinated, the sooner we can loosen more restrictions.
Please call the Family and Community Wellness Centre at 204-484-2341 and ask for Kyle McDonald who will provide more details.
Travel Provisions
- Travel to southern Manitoba is only allowed for verified medical appointments or treatment;
- Each person who travels to southern Manitoba will be required to provide a negative COVID-19 test prior to or immediately upon re-entry to the community;
- Persons who are fully vaccinated will no longer be required to isolate for 14 days upon their return from southern Manitoba if they have no symptoms but they will need to continue self-monitoring and get tested immediately if any cold or flu-like symptoms develop;
- Anyone who is not fully vaccinated will be required to be assessed by public health upon their re-entry to the community and following the assessment must follow the directives given by public health;
- Persons who are fully vaccinated and their children under the age of 12 who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated will be able to travel to and from Thompson with persons from their own household only and will be able to re-enter the community with their vaccination certificate;
- Persons who are not fully vaccinated must continue to apply to the Executive Director of Justice and Public Safety or designate to obtain authorization for travel to and from Thompson;
- Anyone who is not ordinarily resident in the community must obtain an authorization from the Executive Director of Justice and Public Safety or designate to enter the community; and
- Employees and commuters who have been fully vaccinated will no longer need a special entry pass but they will continue to be screened upon entry.
Shopping
- Persons who go to Thompson to shop must arrive at the checkstop no later than 10:00 pm;
- Persons who are not yet fully vaccinated will only be allowed to apply for two travel authorizations a week.
Beer Vendor
- The Beer Vendor will open daily with the exception of Sundays and each person with a valid permit issued under the Community Protection Law and regulations will be allowed to make purchases twice a week.
Bear Spray and Machetes
- Due to recent violence involving these items, they are banned from our community subject to any regulations that Chief and Council may enact to regulate their use during the pursuit of traditional activities such as resource harvesting.
Gatherings/Visiting
- Persons ordinarily resident in the community who are fully vaccinated may visit other households in the community where everyone is also fully vaccinated as long as each household maintains a log book of each visit to help facilitate contact tracing if that becomes necessary;
- Persons who are not fully vaccinated must not gather/visit anyone else.
Home Based Businesses/Confectionaries
- If all eligible persons ordinarily resident in a household are fully vaccinated, a home- based business/confectionary may open;
- All home-based businesses must remain closed if any eligible persons in the household are not fully vaccinated.
Rules For Any Future Active Cases
- If another active case occurs, Chief and Council in consultation with the NCN Health Director or designate will determine whether a full lockdown is necessary or if certain additional restrictions are necessary to contain the spread of the virus.
A Big Thank You to the Community/Staff
Once again, thank you to all community residents who have sacrificed during this pandemic to help keep our community safe. We truly appreciate all the people who have helped by following the rules we have had to put in place.
This last outbreak was particularly scary as it rapidly evolved into 17 cases which is almost three times what we had over the rest of the entire pandemic. Thanks to our diligent, professional staff we avoided more people getting sick.
We know the past 15 months have been very hard but with more and more of us getting vaccinated we can see the end of all these restrictions coming. Getting vaccinated as soon as possible will help to ensure that a fourth, worse wave does not occur.
Please be careful, stay safe, be kind to everyone and try to have patience for a bit longer.
Ekosani!