FORT WILLIAM FIRST NATION - In an effort to stop COVID-19 from entering the community, Fort William First Nation began limiting access to the territory and ordered all vendors to close to the public for two weeks.
Chief Peter Collins said it has been a success, but not without challenges, and council will determine this week if the order will be extended beyond the two weeks.
“There are many challenges because a lot of folks need to get into the city to take care of their health and make sure they have essential supplies,” Collins said.
“That’s a challenge for us because we want them to stay home as much as they can, but we understand they have medical issues to deal with. It’s a problem but we are working with it and trying to figure out different solutions.”
All businesses in the community were ordered closed on April 10 and access was limited to people living in the community and workers who travel directly to work sites such as Resolute Forest Products and the grain elevators.
Prior to the lockdown, Collins said anyone who violated the order will be dealt with to the full extend of the law, but so far there have been no major problems.
“We’ve had fairly good participation from all levels on both sides of the bridge,” Collins said. “At the same time it has been very good. The industries on the north side of the tracks have been working with us to make sure their folks have been abiding by the rules.”
“We get the odd person that complains, but that is part of their nature,” Collins added. “That’s what we have to deal with as we continue on our path of keeping people safe.”
The initial order to close all vendors was to last two weeks, which would come to an end this Friday, but Collins said council will be meeting with business owners on Tuesday and decide on Wednesday whether the order will be extended.
“We are having discussions now with our leadership level and our vendors level if there is a solution we can look at to make it easier for vendors to operate and not have an impact on our community,” Collins said.
Collins said the last thing he wants to do is open the community and someone infected with COVID-19 enters and infects others.
“That’s how this thing could snowball,” he said. “That’s why we have to take every precaution to make sure we do it right.”
There are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Fort William First Nation that Collins is aware of, but he said reporting of cases does not list where an individual resides.
“That’s a challenge for many leaders, even the city of Thunder Bay,” he said. “They get updates that there is a presumptive case or confirmed case, but no one says where that case is located. The reality is we will probably never know unless someone leaks it on Facebook.”
“We have to stay the course and hopefully this trends turn and things change in the coming months or coming weeks,” Collins added. “It’s a challenge, no doubt about it.”
