Pauingassi ordered to stay home

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This article was published 02/02/2021 (1959 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Additional COVID-19 restrictions are in effect for residents of hard-hit Pauingassi First Nation, as the community works to control a “trend of concerning case numbers.”

Chief and council have instructed residents to stay at home unless seeking testing or medical care, or shopping for essential items, the province said during a news conference Monday. Residents are asked to send just one household member for essential supply trips.

Public gatherings are not permitted on the First Nation, located some 280 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. Residents are required to wear non-medical face masks outside the home, the province said.

Those working in essential services are still permitted to leave the house for work.

The small community of around 600 residents has seen a spike in cases and is currently designated critical or red on Manitoba’s pandemic response system.

Many of the province’s recent COVID-19 cases have appeared in the Northern Health region, chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin said Monday.

“We’re seeing different epidemiology in most of the province compared to the North. We’re seeing some isolated outbreaks in the North, as well as some transmission in (the city of) Thompson, as well,” Roussin said.

“We’ll continue to watch that, a lot of work is being done with a lot of partners, a lot of collaboration, so we’ll get those numbers down as well.”

Specific case numbers for Pauingassi were not available Monday. The community’s chief was not available for comment.

— Julia-Simone Rutgers