January 22, 2022

COVID-19 BULLETIN #83

TEMPORARY LIFTING OF SOME RESTRICTIONS SATURDAY AND SUNDAY

Tansi!

A big thank you to everyone who is continuing to follow the measures we have put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our community. We appreciate everyone’s support and positive comments. Many other First Nation communities are also currently in full or partial lockdowns. We are very lucky that we have our own businesses as that has allowed us to get supplies into the community and delivered door to door.

We remain concerned about everyone’s mental well-being and the ability to get supplies so we are temporarily lifting some measures for this weekend before a full lockdown goes back into effect. If you are feeling stressed or anxious please call the Counselling Services Department at 431-354-1270 or the Mental Health Therapist at 204-484-2031 for assistance.

We want to assure you that we are not and will not make decisions on the basis of the types of incidents that took place at the check-stop last evening. We commend the First Nations Safety Officers for their professionalism.

To be clear, my Council and I were in discussions for two days before the incidents at the checkstop last evening. We have been working collaboratively with our public health and public safety teams trying to figure out the best options for our community given there have been 194 cases since December 23rd and here are still 66 houses in isolation. Without restrictions the number of cases would be much higher. So far, no-one has died although some people have gotten quite sick and continue to experience COVID symptoms.

The key now is to contain the spread to these 66 households. We ALL still need to be extremely careful and minimize all contacts to our own households. This will give the public health team time to get caught up so we can bring our worst outbreak of the pandemic under control.

Arrangements for Food and Other Supplies and Special Requests

  • Meat packs and other supplies will be delivered today and tomorrow;
  • 2 vaccinated people per household will be allowed to go to Thompson to shop for essential supplies on either Saturday or Sunday as long as they are not in isolation – we encourage everyone to stock up as the lockdown will go back into effect on Sunday at 9:00 pm.
  • Alcohol and cannabis will be allowed through the checkstop and mail as long as they do not exceed the allowable limits under our Community Protection Law permits.
  • NO VISITING IS ALLOWED IN THE COMMUNITY OR IN THOMPSON DURING THIS TEPORARY LIFTING OF CERTAIN LOCKDOWN RESTRICTIONS.

Camps, Outdoor Activities and Curfew

  • Fully vaccinated households who are not in isolation can apply to go to camp Saturday and/or Sunday;
  • Contact Bonnie Linklater at [email protected] to apply to go to camp or if your camp is on the highway a form can be signed at the check-stop;
  • Everyone who is not in isolation is encouraged to go ice fishing, walking, tobogganing and do other activities outside WITH YOUR OWN HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS ONLY.
  • Curfew from 9:00 pm to 7:00 am will be in effect to facilitate shopping for essential supplies.

Special Requests

  • Any special requests for assistance from family or neighbours such as shovelling snow and sharing supplies should be sent to Bonnie Linklater at [email protected];
  • Anyone who left the community and has been waiting for the restrictions to be lifted so they can return home must apply to Bonnie Linklater at [email protected] and provide proof of a negative test taken within the last 24 hours and confirmation of their isolation plan upon return to the community.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO BE RESPONSIBLE AND DO YOUR PART:

  • LIMIT YOUR CONTACTS TO YOUR HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS
  • GET VACCINATED, GET YOUR BOOSTER, GET YOUR KIDS VACCINATED
  • DO NOT GO TO THE MULTI-PLEX TO GET VACCINATED IF YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD TO STAY IN ISOLATION
  • LISTEN TO PUBLIC HEALTH
  • WEAR A GOOD FITTING MEDICAL MASK AND CHANGE IT OFTEN
  • WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP AND WATER FREQUENTLY
  • SANITIZE SURFACES IN YOUR HOME
  • DO NOT SHARE FOOD, DRINKS, CIGARETTES, MAKE-UP

We hope everyone has a good weekend and we also hope that in a few weeks the current outbreak will be over. Thank you for your patience as we try to keep everyone as safe as possible.

Ekosani!