State of local emergency declared on Stoney Nakoda First Nation

Local emergency on Stoney Nakoda High COVID numbers forced Stoney Nakoda to declare a local emergency. Camilla Di Giuseppe reports.

Calgary — Rising COVID-19 numbers caused the Stoney Nakoda First Nation to declare a State of Local  Emergency and Necessary Action Monday.

It advised anyone exhibiting symptoms to follow the four part protocol, including: following the advice of health professionals, including assisting with contact tracing, self-isolating, wearing a mask and practicing hand hygiene, and avoiding all non-essential travel.

A band council resolution was signed, which included a ban on house-to-house visits, and a curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. except for work, health or emergency purposes.

School remains on Scenario 3 (teacher-directed-at-home learning).

Starting Tuesday, Jan. 12, on-nation funerals and wakes will no longer be allowed. Virtual funerals are being encouraged and all remains must go from the funeral home to the burial site.

As of Sunday, Jan. 10, there were 86 active cases. Sunday there were 13 new cases.

An update was posted to the Stoney Nakoda First Nation's Facebook page.

"The Director of Emergency Management in conjuction with other members of the Incident Command Team have determined that a state of emergency exists within the Stoney Nakoda towns of Morley, Big Horn and Eden Valley due to the unprecedented increase in positive COVID-19 cases," it read.

Sunday,Alberta Health issued a letter advising residents that if they've attended a public event such as a wedding, funeral or organized event in the last 10 days, "you may have been exposed to COVID-19."