Covid-19 Bulletin 71 – Restrictions Loosened if Vaccinated

June 11, 2021

COVID-19 BULLETIN #71

FURTHER RESTRICTIONS LOOSENED FOR FULLY VACCINATED PEOPLE

Tansi!

Genocide and Hatred

My Council and I want to acknowledge the ongoing pain and suffering caused by the residential schools. The recent disturbing discovery in Kamloops once again raises concerns about the negative impacts of these schools on our people. We will be trying to determine what happened to our people who went missing at residential schools and hope build a monument in our community in their memory. Our sincere condolences to all of the families who may have been impacted.

We also offer our sincere condolences to the people of London, Ontario and to all Muslims who have experienced racism and hatred. There is no place for such hatred anywhere in our society. Unfortunately, we understand their pain and suffering all too well as our people have faced such racism ourselves.

We all need to remember our customary laws, particularly in this case, Asehewewin – how our thoughts, words and actions affect others. We have a responsibility to teach our children to love one another regardless of their gender, race, religion or sexual orientation. The colour of our skin, what we wear, who we love or who we worship are irrelevant. We are all entitled to live in this country in peace and safety. Racism and hatred have no place here.

New OIC-313-2021-8

This new OIC allows FULLY VACCINATED RESIDENTS and their children under 12 to travel within Manitoba without requiring authorization or isolation upon return as long as they have no COVID-19 symptoms. People who are not fully vaccinated can continue to apply for authorization to go to Thompson only.

The curfew from 11:00 pm to 7:00 am is now in effect for children and youth only but ATVs also cannot be operated during these hours.

All other OIC provisions previously outlined remain in effect.

Definition Fully Vaccinated

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 are being 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.

Information About Vaccinations and the Delta Variant

• • This B.1.617.2 (delta) variant is 60% more transmissible than the B.1.17 (UK) variant;
• • The delta variant is spreading across Canada and the number of cases in Manitoba has risen quickly in the past few weeks – it is expected to replace the UK variant as the main type of COVID-19 virus in Manitoba possibly this summer;
• • Vaccines are still highly effective against the delta variant but the effectiveness rate is about 80% instead of the 90% effectiveness rate against the UK variant so following ALL public health measures remains important (masks, hand washing, distancing and limiting contacts);
• • Vaccines continue to be the best way to reduce risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19 as long as everyone remembers that the risk is not totally eliminated even once vaccinated;
• • Get vaccinated as soon as possible as we are in a race between second doses of the vaccine and the variants to try to prevent their further spread.

Vaccination Clinics

• • We will be receiving 200 doses of the Moderna and 108 doses of Pfizer vaccines on Wednesday, June 16th.
• • Please get vaccinated as soon as possible to protect yourself, your loved ones and our community. We need to increase our vaccination rates particularly among our youth ages 12 to 17.
• • The sooner we are all vaccinated, the sooner we can loosen more restrictions.
• • Please call the Public Health department at the Family and Community Wellness Centre – 204-484-2341 – for more details.

Shopping

• • Persons who are not fully vaccinated and go to Thompson to shop must arrive at the checkstop no later than 10:00 pm. For greater certainty, fully vaccinated people and their unvaccinated children under the age of 12 do NOT have to apply to go shopping and will be allowed to re-enter the community after 10:00 pm.
• • Persons who are not yet fully vaccinated will only be allowed to apply for two travel authorizations a week.

Gatherings/Visiting

• • Persons ordinarily resident in the community and other NCN Citizens who are fully vaccinated may visit other households in the community where everyone who is eligible 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;
• • Anyone travelling outside of the community needs to be aware that visiting at private or public places is limited to 5 people from a maximum of 2 other households in addition to the household and the visit must take place outside.

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 and staff who continue to make sacrifices during this pandemic to help keep our community safe. Hopefully, things will begin to return to normal as more and more people get vaccinated.

Please be careful, stay safe, be kind to everyone and try to have patience for a bit longer.

Ekosani!