A remote community off the coast of Vancouver Island has declared a local state of emergency after a COVID-19 cluster outbreak.
The Village of Alert Bay on Cormorant Island located northeast of Vancouver Island is the location of a cluster outbreak of COVID-19 cases after its Mayor, Dennis Buchanan, tested positive for the virus last week.
As a result, the municipality was given permission by Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth to declare a local state of emergency.
See also: Mayor of remote village off of Vancouver Island tests positive for COVID-19
This state of emergency exists in the Village of Alert Bay and the Regional District of Mount Waddington until midnight on Friday, April 24th, 2020 unless otherwise stated.
Authorities are now restricting ferry travel to and from the island to essential traffic only and, according to a statement from Mayor Buchanan, people will need passes to travel on the ferries.
“This is not only to protect local residents but also to keep people from taking the COVID-19 virus off of this island and contaminating people elsewhere,” said Buchanan.
A curfew has been put in place as of April 19th requiring all residents to be at home from 9:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. An alarm is sounded at 9 p.m. to give people time to return to their homes.
The Village of Alert Bay will also have no garbage or recycling pick up service until further notice. Those who have a vehicle are asked to bring their garbage to the transfer station at designated times between Tuesday and Saturday at no charge.
In light of these announcements, Mayor Buchanan implores residents not to blame each other.
“This is a worldwide epidemic, so just try and stay calm, wash your hands, try not to touch your face and please stay home.”
See all the latest updates about the global COVID-19 pandemic on Vancouver Island
The BCCDC has set up a 2019 novel coronavirus telephone information line at 1-833-784-4397 for those who have further questions about this disease.
Anyone concerned that they may have been exposed to, or are experiencing symptoms of the novel coronavirus, should contact their primary care provider, local public health office, or call 8-1-1.
The Province has also created the 1-888-COVID-19 line to connect British Columbians needing non-medical information about the coronavirus pandemic.
As of the time of publication, the total number of COVID-19 patients worldwide has risen to 2,529,094.
Over 174,500 people have died from the illness and 667,609 have made a full recovery.
