‘Red alert’ COVID-19 restrictions in place in Kangirsuk and Ivujivik
Non-essential services shut in both communities, curfew and travel restrictions in place
Public health authorities in Nunavik have implemented a curfew and travel restrictions in Kangirsuk and Ivujivik as the region reported 18 active cases on Monday. (Graphic by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash)
Two Nunavik communities are under “red alert” COVID-19 travel restrictions and a curfew, following the discovery of several cases of COVID-19 in the region.
There are four active cases in Kangirsuk and 14 active cases in Ivujivik, the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services announced Monday.
Services deemed “non-essential” have been suspended in in both communities. These services include daycares, churches, community centres and schools.
Grocery stores, community health centres, municipal services, construction and police services are deemed essential and will continue to operate.
People in both communities are advised to not gather with people from outside of their households. A curfew is now in place, forbidding people from leaving their homes between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Travel to and from both communities are also suspended. Flights to and from Ivujivik are allowed to resume on Oct. 19, but in Kangirsuk, they remain suspended until further notice.
Travel to Kangirsuk and Ivujivik is restricted to residents of the communities, people travelling to provide essential services, humanitarian reasons, commercial reasons and people who are required to travel because of a court order. The same rules apply to Kangirsuk and Ivujivik residents who need to travel to other regions within Nunavik.
Residents of Kangirsuk and Ivujivik hoping to fly south of Nunavik are also only allowed to travel if they are not experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and if they have not been in contact with someone who has tested positive. Travellers must also prove that they have tested negative within 72 hours of departure.
How is covid coming to the north with all the restrictions we have, maybe have to tighten them up in the south and north, no choice.
This stuff is going to go around and around until most of the population is vaccinated
We’ve been doing well in Nunavik keeping Covid at bay. All the testing in the south and 7 days after arriving. Vaccination not enough yet. But let’s look at what was done to open the door more for Covid to come in. Bible studies recently in Kangirsuk, people from the south, why have that gathering in first place.? Authorities should monitor the potential for a longer period, not to let the guard down yet. And why all the meetings and travel still going on? This group and that group, yes, a few groups congregated in Kangirsuk recently. The guard has been let down too soon, the door has been open, and maybe Covid is finally going to get a upper hand on Nunavik, especially in the non vaccinated population.
As of today, I learned there “are” 2 with covid symptons in town ; still in question but should we not be informed of this so we can be wary?
Its coming at the end of October, the federal government is mandating vaccines to take a plane, train in Canada, no vaccine no travel.
Look at the Nunavik Regional Health and Social Services site. It’s public information about this Covid situation in Kangirsuk. You can access it via Facebook. It’s updated to indicate the Covid concern due to gatherings in Kangirsuk recently. Bible study, Nunavik men’s group, and attendance was from Nunavik communities and Also Nunavut. This is a wake up call to Nunavik authorities. We can only hope that this recent Covid outbreak gets contained, and that a good lesson is learned by all.
Unfortunately, the community vaccination rates in that region are less than 50% making them more vulnerable. More outreach needs to be done to overcome hesitancy and cultural fear of the vaccine. Stay safe.
To the unvaccinated this message is for you.
Stay home, wear your mask at public places, stay two meters apart, wash your hands.
Don’t share joints, no after you on cigarettes, soft drinks. Don’t drink liquor after someone drank from it.
If you follow the recommendations you should be fine.
Stay in your little hole.
In other words, get vaccinated.
Have a good day
Just because your vaccinated don’t think your exempted from any of the rules that apply to all people for covid restrictions, and understand for yourself that being vaccinated does not mean your not capable of spreading the sars cov2, vaccinated people are more likely to spread the disease thinking that they are immune to the disease
I believe that us vaccinated are respecting the rules more than you are.
DO YOUR PART
Yes, the vaccinated are required to continue with the recommended guidelines, wear mask and follow all procedures. Yes the vaccinated can be carriers, but it’s the unvaccinated that will likely get infected with very serious consequences. Get vaccinated.
Covid spreading, bed bug spreading. It’s all related to the gathering through out the region. Over many years those gatherings have cost Nunavik so much , not only in wasted money that could have helped with poor living conditions, but the social problems attached with party’s, drinking, drugging and destruction of family life, as mothers, fathers, husband, wives, and elders have neglected their own family and community to go somewhere else to do absolutely nothing good. This Covid and bed bugs and miserable social life in Nunavik are part of that moving of people for nothing good.
Throwing this one to the authorities: what’s your perspective on how suddenly Covid has recently started spreading in several Nunavik communities, and Covid was contained up to that time? What has happen recently to make that so, why is it happening? What are we doing now to allow it in with these numbers , but all these months it didn’t get in? What has changed? Surely the unvaccinated that didn’t travel never brought it in.