There is an ongoing outbreak of COVID-19 at Saik’uz First Nation and the community is now closed to all visitors.
Chief and Council announced Aug. 28 that the cases in Saik’uz have been confirmed to be the Delta variant.
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Residents of the community have been asked to stay at home, limit their interactions with individuals outside their households, and to restrict travel to essential needs only.
Vehicles passing through the community are not allowed to stop except under emergency circumstances. Saik’uz security will be monitoring the situation and will report and non-community vehicles observed in Saik’uz.
“Saik’uz Chief and Council requests that all community members and outside individuals respect this closure for the safety of Saik’uz and surrounding areas,” as stated in the Aug. 28 news release.
Meanwhile, in an email response Aug. 27, Northern Health spokesperson Eryn Collins said the health agency has seen an increase in vaccine bookings, walk-ins and appointments in recent days. This comes after B.C. announced a new COVID-19 proof of vaccination system is set to take effect Sept. 13.
As of Aug. 25, 61 percent of the eligible population in Vanderhoof received their first dose of the vaccine, and 51 percent of residents received their second dose. The current population of the district is 5,459 residents.
In comparison to that, only 49 percent of the eligible population had received their first dose by June 2.
In Vanderhoof rural, 54 percent of the 2,159 residents received their first dose and 48 percent have received their second dose of the vaccine.
Only 47 percent of the population had received their first shot by June 2.
In Northern B.C. as a whole, 341,923 doses have been administered and 71 percent of the population 12 and older and received at least one dose. 61 percent of the population has been fully immunized with two doses.
Aman Parhar
Editor - Vanderhoof Omineca Express, Caledonia Courier
aman.parhar@ominecaexpress.com
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