Haida Gwaii is closed

BC government bans non-essential travel

By Lauren Gargiulo, News Editor

With 20 COVID-19 cases, 13 of them active, the BC provincial government has banned travel to Haida Gwaii. In a statement released on July 30, the Council of the Haida Nation says it is “pleased that BC has aligned with our efforts to protect Haida citizens and citizens of Haida Gwaii by issuing an order to restrict non-essential travel to the islands.”

Haida Gwaii has been closed under Haida Gwaii law since March 23. In a statement released on March 24, it was stated that “travel to and from communities on Haida Gwaii will be limited to essential services only.”

With a population of around 5,000 people, the island has been reported to have 12 hospital beds. As of July 30, there are 20 cases of COVID-19 on Haida Gwaii, 13 of them considered to be active. In BC, there are 29 new cases since July 29, with a total of 242 active cases. The British Columbia Weekly COVID-19 Surveillance Report for July 24 to 30 says that “detections in BC have recently increased, but the risk remains low overall.”

In a statement on their website, Northern Health said that every case is a “epidemiologically linked” case, which the BC Centre for Disease Control defines as “people who were never tested but were presumed to have COVID-19 because they developed symptoms and were close contacts of a laboratory confirmed case.”

Chief Councillor of the Skidegate Band Council, William Yovanovich called the closing of Haida Gwaii a “reset button,” stating, “it will help our local efforts in controlling the outbreak of COVID-19.” While the Provincial Government’s order is recent, requests for non-residents to stay off the island due to COVID-19 outbreak concerns have previously been publicly voiced by Haida Gwaii residents. A change.org petition created in July called for the end of “the blatant disrespect of the Haida Law.” Earlier this month, two fishing lodges reopened despite the state of emergency declared by Haida Gwaii law on March 23.

One of the owners of these fishing lodges, The West Coast Fishing Club, has been critical of BC’s decision. Brian Legge thinks his business should have been exempt for several reasons. In an interview with CBC, he states that “we have 36 staff who were doing well, functioning well and are now unemployed.” Legge also said that his business had employed all the necessary safety precautions, that the club is isolated, and airlift could be utilized to take those who could be sick directly to the mainland. Donald Edgars, Chief Councillor of the Old Massett Village Council, commented that he thought that the decision to reopen the fishing lodges was “disrespectful.” On the current closing, he stated that the “leaders of Haida Gwaii have done all that we can to keep COVID-19 from coming to our communities. Our EOC and health teams have been preparing for this day,” he said. “I’m glad to hear BC has aligned with Haida Gwaii’s measures, and we are all working together on this pandemic response. Keeping our Elders and communities safe is our top priority during these difficult times.”