The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne would like to make the community aware that there has been an increase of positive COVID-19 cases under the jurisdiction of MCA, known as the “northern portion” of the community. For the entire pandemic, we have had a total of 8 positive cases, with currently 5 in active status. The Community Health Program has been providing the necessary contact tracing and advice regarding precautions.

We are firmly in a second wave of the pandemic. While we understand the effects of COVID-19 fatigue, we cannot let our guards down. The time to take collective action is now in order to prevent a much worse scenario and stricter measures in the future. COVID-19 has no borders and we need to work together to stop the spread. It is out of concern for our community that it is strongly recommended we pause our activities and take the following steps immediately:

• Limit close contact to only people within your own household. This means minimizing interactions with people who don’t live in your house, including dining at restaurants and other social gatherings.

• Limit non-essential activities. This means trying to stick to essential activities as much as possible such as going to school or work (if you work outside of your home) and using online delivery services for errands when possible.

• As always, when you are in public keep a physical distance of two metres (six feet) from those outside of your household

• Wear a mask when physical distancing is not possible

• Wash and sanitize your hands frequently

• Stay home if you are sick, even if you have mild cold-like symptoms.

We have learned that many cases are linked to private social gatherings and group activities. We know there is a greater risk of transmitting COVID-19 in particular situations and settings where individuals have close contact with one another, often without a mask and for prolonged periods of time.

It is our hope that everyone follows these recommendations to the greatest extent possible to protect one another and stop cases from rising in our community. We all have a choice to make right now – between what we want to do and what we need to do. We still have time to reduce the severity of this second wave, but we need your help to achieve this. We did it before and we can do it again.

Nia:wen to everyone for staying in this together, taking this seriously and above all for being kind to one another.

Please continue to visit eohu.ca/COVID19 for the latest updates and contact the Community Health Program at 613-575-2250 Ext. 3220 for information on testing and public health.