The chief of a the Mikisew Cree First Nation says a local curfew has been imposed between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., affecting all members of the Fort Chipewyan, Allison Bay and Doghead reserves.
Chief Archie Waquan says he remembers his father’s stories about the influenza pandemic of 1918 and he is not going to let COVID-19 devastate his people in the same way.
Waquan says he recognizes there may be opposition to the curfew but he doesn’t want a repeat of the Spanish flu outbreak when his father told him the First Nation could not bury its dead fast enough.
The First Nation has no cases of COVID-19 but proactively declared a state of local emergency last month and took other steps to ensure members have access to food and cleaning supplies.
