The Walpole Island First Nation bridge will remain closed for at least another month due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Walpole Island First Nation Council voted in favour on Tuesday to keep the community closed until the end of August. As a result, only Walpole Island First Nation members, full-time residents, and essential workers will be permitted to cross through the checkpoint until further notice.
“We appreciated the cooperation and understanding from the community in helping us to keep our most vulnerable members safe," said Chief Daniel Miskokomon. "The reality for us is that our community has a high prevalence of underlying health conditions that make many of our members more vulnerable to COVID-19, so we must take extra precautions to protect these individuals. We don’t want to lose any more members to COVID-19.”
At the end of August, the Chief and council will review the closure once again and make a further decision based on community feedback and advice from health officials.
Access to Walpole Island has been restricted since April 1.