Walpole Island First Nation is struggling with a recent surge in COVID-19 cases and may have to call-in the heavy hitters to help.
Chief Executive Officer James Jenkins said the community is under stricter limits on organized public events and social gatherings. Jenkins said Code Red of the COVID-19 Alert Action Plan has been imposed, which means no more than 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.
He said the health centre is having a hard time keeping up with testing and contact tracing and they may have to call on Health Canada for help in the next few days if things don't improve.
Jenkins said compliance is an issue and the goal now is to ensure everybody is following self-isolation orders and getting tested when they feel unwell.
"We're seeing our health centre being pushed to the limit," said Jenkins. "I think with there being so few active cases over most of the summer, there may be a bit of complacency that's set in. We're seeing a rise in cases, we're seeing transmission among vaccinated individuals, even severe illness among vaccinated individuals, but I think there's a sense because we have a high vaccination rate that we're somewhat protected. We're reminding everybody that this is serious and we're potentially going into a more dire situation if we don't start following all the public health precautions again."
On Thursday, Walpole Island had 28 active cases and four deaths linked to the virus. That's an increase from zero active cases and four deaths listed just two weeks ago. Jenkins said the highest number of active cases on Walpole Island has been 35 during the pandemic.
Two outbreaks were declared last week at the daycare centre and school on the island. Chief Charles Sampson said some community members are in the hospital battling the virus. The chief said most programs on the island are closed and services will be available for emergencies only. He added that those disobeying public health orders to quarantine will face further action by Walpole Island officials.
Jenkins said Lambton Public Health has been helping throughout the pandemic but they have others in their own jurisdiction to care for. Walpole Island leadership has called on Health Canada to help before and it may have to do it again.
Jenkins added duck hunting is still allowed.
