Message from Tla’amin Executive Council and Health Director
April 4, 2021
As of today, there is a new lab confirmed COVID-19 case in our community, showing us that despite vaccinations and public health measures, this pandemic is not done with us yet.
We ask that you join us in one final push to keep our cases down and our community safe as the whole province faces, what we hope is, one last challenge.
It has been a hard year. We know this state of emergency has gone on for too long, and we are collectively tired, lonely and restless.
With the Tla’amin vaccine clinics last month came hope, hope that this will soon be over. We felt, for the first time in a long time, that we were moving towards better times. Even the sun came out, and it seemed like all of this would soon be over. We started making plans for summer and seeing our friends and relatives again.
The vaccine has unfortunately created a false sense of safety, it is a protective shield, but it does not make us bulletproof. All across the province spread is happening indoors and at social gatherings. This is not the time to let down our guard.
This is not like the September outbreak- the third wave of this virus is increasingly impacting young people in new and unpredictable ways. There are new variants of the virus that are spreading faster, and we do not know how deadly these are yet.
Tla’amin Nation leadership met today and issued the following directives:
- Stay home. We ask that our members do not congregate with members outside of their immediate household. It’s time to postpone any planned family dinners.
- The community is closed to visitors. So, if your address is not a permanent Nation address, you should not be here until further notice. Patrols will be ramped up- effective tonight.
- If you have questions or need help you can call the Tla’amin Emergency line at
604.578.0447 - If you feel symptoms, please report to the Powell River General Hospital emergency department for testing. Be sure to call ahead to let them know you’re coming.
We will continue to provide you with regular updates via Facebook and the Tla’amin Nation website.
In closing, our people are precious and when one of us hurts, we all hurt. One of our strongest teachings as Tla’amin qayumɩxʷ is to read and pay attention to the signs around us. This disease is on the rise and it’s a disease that we are still learning about. We must respect its power and pull together do what we can to keep ourselves and our relatives safe.