Preventative Measures for Moose Factory

March 17, 2020

Due to the swiftly spreading coronavirus, the heightened alert throughout Ontario, and the support of local jurisdictions, strict measures are needed to ensure that we do not put added stress on our local health system. These measures are to protect our health system, neighbouring communities, health teams, and to prevent the coronavirus from entering our community, our homes and our health system.

Assertive decisions have been made as we know that our health system would collapse under strain without these preventative measures in place. All community members are asked to please implement social distancing and to ensure all family members are aware of Moose Cree, Mushkegowuk, MoCreebec & LSB initiatives, such as:

1. All public functions are cancelled until further notice.
2. MCFN is closed to the public, however a staggered schedule of employees is being implemented for essential services and calls. This is until further notice.
3. Continued meetings with local jurisdictions to see how efforts can join and mitigate the risk for our communities so we remain healthy and safe.
4. MCFN departments have been mobilized to act on certain tasks. For example: training families to implement care at home for those who may be sick, set up an alternative care centre to handle any overflow from the hospital, possibly hiring a temporary NP to see clients still needing medical care for less urgent matters such as bladder infection, yeast infection, earache, etc., Public Works to deliver bags to homes and these are only to be used if you have hazardous garbage such as Kleenex, saliva, etc., assist with recruiting volunteers for cooking if needed for the health team, shut ins and the sick who have no family, assist with communication to the community, moose hunting and fishing to provide traditional food to those sick and quarantined, shopping for those in need who have an entire house under quarantine or who are sick, coordinating membership who may wish to go to their camps earlier, looking at other methods of collecting water if needed, food baskets or certain shopping hours for elders at Northern, creative ways of engaging community and youth without compromising safety and health, utilizing buildings for cooking in times of need, ensuring enough gas, oil, propane, and helicopter fuel is available in the community, individualized interventions for future funerals, outdoor tent to be utilized for services wanting to be held outside ensuring adequate distance between people, medicine walks, assisting local stores with alternative methods of shopping or restricting amount of people shopping at the same time, first aid training, food baskets for families, wood stock piling in case of emergency/hydro situations, updating pandemic contingency plans for each organization, ensuring adequate medication/safety available at the pharmacy, hiring people to implement infection control in areas that may still be available to community members, i.e. the pharmacy and store. All these interventions and supports are part of our pandemic plan; however, they can only be carried out if our staffing remains adequate.
5. Please be advised that effective immediately, the Wetum road cannot be accessed by outside businesses, contractors or residents of southern communities. The Wetum road will be officially closed on Thursday, March 19th, 2020 at 6 pm. Until this time, only community members from Moose Factory, Moosonee and up the coast are permitted to access the road. We are asking people to no longer travel and if you are out of town, please consider returning home as soon as possible. Any community residents that are arriving back into the community will be screened for symptoms, be read a statement from Chief & Council, and be required to self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days. You may be asked to quarantine based on your location of travel. Your names will be forwarded to public health for follow up. You will be asked to self-isolate if you are returning to the community with symptoms.
6. Anyone entering the community by train or plane from a vacation at any date are asked to inform public health of their travel and whether you are free of illness. If you do not have symptoms you will be asked to quarantine for 14 days. If you have symptoms you will be asked to self-isolate and public health will advise of the next steps.

We are taking every precaution, as difficult as they may be, for the safety, health and well-being of our members and community.

Meegwetch,
Emergency Operations Team & MCFN Chief & Council