Kahnawake continues at red alert level as COVID-19 cases continue to climb

The number of COVID-19 cases in Kahnawake continuedto rise on Sunday, a day after local health officials moved the community to its highest alert level due to a drastic increasein cases.

The number of active cases in the Mohawk communitylocated south of Montrealstood at 22 on Sunday, an increase of two cases from the day before. A total of 60people were in isolation as of Saturday,prompting the move to the "red alert" status.

Kahnawakehadno cases on Nov. 21, according toLisa Westaway, executive director at the Kateri Memorial Hospital Centre.Westaway said the number ofactive cases roseto 22 by Sunday after counting 20 cases withinthe past 72 hours including seven reported Friday night into Saturday.

"[July] was the last time we had such a high number of cases all at once," she told CBC News on Saturday.

People aged four andfive years old currently make up the highest number of cases in the region, according to the release from Kahnawake's public safety commission and the public health team at the Kateri Memorial Hospital Centre.

Outbreaks atStep-by-Step Child and Family Centre daycare andKateri Schoolin the region were reported this week. The daycare will be closed until Dec. 2following an outbreak in a second classroom, it announced in a separate release; all staff and children are being asked to get tested.

Westawaysaid the community won't know themagnitude of the outbreak until the results are in.

"Our community is very interconnected, so family members often work at our schools or organizations, are livingwith grandparents, so their level of risk is much increased compared to elsewhere," she said.

Public health grapples with contact tracing

Health officials areputting the responsibility on community members to make informed decisions for their own health, warning that anyoneparticipating in group activitiesshouldevaluate their level of risk.

"The Kahnaw:ke Public Health team is working tirelessly but is unable to keep up with contact tracing required within an acceptable amount of time to control the current transmission levels, increasing the risk of having contagious individuals with COVID-19 in the community without their knowledge," the statement said.

"A big team effort for a short period of time will help us get control of the outbreaks so that we all can remain safe and healthy, especially with the holidays approaching."

The community adopted a colour-coded system in August. At the red alert level the system's highest levelit is strongly recommended to:

• Limit private gatherings to small groups.
• Avoid public indoor and outdoor gatherings.
• Wear a mask indoors and outdoors whenever you are with people who do not live with you.
• Maintaina two-metre distance between yourself and people who do not live with you.

Efforts to address vaccine hesitancy for parents of young kids

Vaccinations for children aged five to 11 began in the region on Friday, although Westaway said there's a lot of vaccine hesitancy among parents of this age group.

She said physicians are available to answer questions,pet therapy has been deployed to the vaccination siteandvideos that explain vaccine safety are promoted.

"We're trying to respond to the needs that families have," Westaway said. "Wehope to see increases in vaccination rates for that age group and hopefully thatwill make a difference for the future."

In the local population for those age 12 and over, about 71 per cent of peopleare fully vaccinated withtwoCOVID-19 vaccines as of Saturday.

The overall numbers for the province of Quebec showed that as of Saturday,84 per cent of the eligible population in the province aged five and uphadreceived one dose of vaccine, and 81per cent hadreceived two doses.