Jackie Jacobson, MLA for Nunakput, called on the Government of the Northwest Territories to help small communities in his region attain stricter measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories issued a news release on Jacobson's behalf Friday afternoon stating that drastic steps have to be taken "now to prevent further spread of COVID-19" to Tuktoyaktuk, Paulatuk, Sachs Harbour and Uluhaktok.
Mayors in all four communities have called for more help in dealing with the pandemic.
"There are no respirators in the communities and no additional health care staff have been hired for small communities," Jacobson stated in the news release. "There are no set travel restrictions and no way to enforce them. By failing to translate information on protective measures into Inuinnaqtun or Inuvialuktun, the GNWT has shown little respect for our elders.”
Jacobson is also calling for a ban on travel between small communities except for the most necessary reasons.
“We cannot afford to allow the spread of this virus into the communities. If this happens, lives will be lost. I support the mayors 100 per cent in their request for stricter measures,” Jacobson stated. “The GNWT must halt all travel into and between the smaller communities, except for those transporting necessities. Any residents returning to their home communities at this point in time should be required to produce written medical clearance. No one else should be allowed in. Period.”
The release notes that with four cases of the virus in the NWT, including one in Inuvik and another in a small community, it is evident "that travel restrictions and self-isolation requirements alone are not going to be enough to keep the COVID-19 virus from spreading to the small communities," the release stated.
Tuktoyaktuk-Inuvik Highway
The release states that Erwin Elias, mayor of Tuktoyaktuk, is asking for the same restrictions on the highway from Alberta to the NWT be placed on the Tuktoyaktuk-Inuvik so to restrict non-essential travel into and out of his community.
Nunakput mayors are also calling on people coming from southern Canada into the NWT to be isolated in the south first.
"Returning people should be quarantined on in the south first, and should only be allowed on a plane to the NWT once they have written medical clearance," states the release.
This week, News/North reported that Mayor Elias was against allowing people from the south to isolate in the North.
Other requests the mayors are seeking include a standardization of isolation of arrangements for all returning residents in the GNWT.
"Currently, anyone entering into Inuvik from the south is required to self-isolate at home, while those from the surrounding communities are isolated in the Mackenzie Hotel," the release states. "This means someone from Inuvik could potentially infect the rest of their family, in order to save the cost of a hotel room. The GNWT should move immediately to make rooms available for anyone needing self-isolation."
Finally, the release calls on the GNWT to name which communities have infected people after positive cases are known "so that local leaders and inter-agency groups can adjust their current emergency preparedness plans accordingly."