FORT WILLIAM FIRST NATION — The Chief of Fort William First Nation is appealing to community members to practise social distancing in the face of the rising incidence of COVID-19 in the Thunder Bay region.
In a message posted on Facebook Peter Collins said the leadership as well as the general population of Fort William "still have a job to do" to keep the virus from spreading, and "gathering with people is not part of that."
Between Friday and Monday there were seven new positive COVID-19 cases in the First Nation.
The results of additional tests on 80 residents are still pending.
"God forbid there's more" cases, Collins said.
In an interview Tuesday morning, he said "People that have a tendency of visiting others right now, and that's how it's spreading, with people mobilizing around the community, visiting homes."
Collins said his message to residents is "if you know someone's positive, please stay away if you can at all costs, because the likelihood of you getting it is very substantial. That's concerning for us."
He added that it's also imperative to avoid contact with someone who has been in close contact with an infected individual until they are cleared by the Thunder Bay District Health Unit.
When asked if he feels "COVID fatigue" is making it harder for people to stay apart, he replied "Well we're all getting COVID fatigue. It's been a year. It's a very tiring challenge for each and every one of us."
But Collins told members of the First Nation "Stick to your household...I get that we are all getting lonely...but COVID hasn't gone away."
He said Fort William's emergency response team continues to work tirelessly to keep the community safe, but "we are not out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination. We have a lot of work to do," adding that the virus can only be stopped if everyone in the community contributes to the effort, not just the leadership team.
According to Collins, some community members have already been vaccinated against the virus. Members of the frontline team will start receiving vaccinations this week, followed by the Ontario Works team, health teams, sanitation workers and others.
"We'll continue vaccinating, week after week, until we get everybody vaccinated" on the Fort William First Nation, he said.