The Squamish Nation has announced that its offices are temporarily closed due to multiple positive COVID-19 cases among its members.
On Friday, Aug. 28, the Nation announced on its website that it was notified "following a notification pathway developed jointly between Vancouver Coastal Health and the First Nations Health Authority developed specifically for use in First Nations communities" of multiple positive confirmed cases of COVID-19 among Squamish Nation members.
All cases have been linked to the first confirmed case, announced earlier in the week, of a member on the Capilano reserve in West Vancouver.
"There is no need to panic," the alert reads.
"The patients are informed, isolated, and receiving care."
All close contacts are already in isolation and are being tested.
Because some of these community members are also employees of the Nation, there is a two-week closure of all Nation offices.
"All non-essential employees will be working from home during this time, and visitors will not be allowed into the offices."
If you believe you may have symptoms of COVID-19, call 8-1-1.
Testing is done at Squamish Hospital or on the North Shore at the Primary Care Centre on Esplanade, and at a testing site located in the Centennial Theatre parking lot.
Cases are up provincewide.
On Aug. 28, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced there were 974 active cases of COVID-19 in B.C., 2,796 people who are currently under public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases, and 4,310 people who previously tested positive who have since recovered.
