Ahousaht First Nation is closed to non-residents until further notice due to an ongoing outbreak of COVID-19.
One individual is reported to be in hospital and there are 19 active cases within the remote community of about 1,000 members. Ahousaht has had a total of 67 cases since the first case was confirmed in November 2020.
“Ahousaht Chief and council encourage our members and residents to be calm, be respectful, be supportive and to refrain from gossiping. This is a difficult time for people infected, isolating, families, support, health support; we are all in this together. Continue to put your best foot forward in a good way. Nothing about COVID-19 is easy,” reads a Sept. 27 statement from the Nation.
Both the high school and elementary school remain closed in effort to reduce the spread of the virus and all gatherings are on hold.
Chief Councillor Greg Louie addressed the new safety measures in a social media post.
“There is a concern with the amount of alcohol usage in our community. We encourage people to stay at home and stop partying. If you have any family members out there please bring them home. We need co-operation from families,” said Chief Louie.
He went on to say that if anyone needs mental health support to contact the Ahousaht Community Health Service Department (CHS) for support services at
Ahousaht administration is also working on getting two or three more isolation trailers in the community and the food distribution centre is ongoing.
Anyone experiencing COVID-19 symptoms is urged to self-isolate and contact 811 or the Island Health COVID-19 Testing Call Centre at
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