No visiting as all Nunavik communities move to 'red alert' COVID-19 level Wednesday

All 14 communities in Nunavik will be at the highest COVID-19 alert level red beginning Jan. 19.

The Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services said in a Facebook post there is community transmission in more than half of the region's communities and that the entire region is at risk.

"It is just a matter of time until Omicron will spread in all communities," it stated.

As of Jan. 14, eight of the communities in the northern Quebec region were already at the red alert level while the other six were at the second highest level, orange plus.

The six communities moving to the red alert level are Kuujjuaraapik, Umiujaq, Inukjuaq, Aklulivik, Quaqtaq and Aupaluk.

There are about 12,000 residents in Nunavik, almost 90 per cent of whom are Inuit.

The board also stated it's adapting the measures in the red alert level to the Omicron variant, so that it can "minimize as much as possible important outbreaks that could overload the health care system, while maintaining basic and essential services in communities."

In the updated measures, school and daycares can reopen but there is a complete shutdown of all non-essential public places. All non-essential activities are cancelled.

Essential services such as grocery stories and clinics remain open but people are asked to minimize their essential activities as much as possible.

People can't visit others or host visitors, including visits between family members who don't live in the same house.

While outdoor gatherings are allowed, they are limited to 20 people.

Only essential travel is allowed and there is a curfew in place from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Churches are open for funerals only, with a limit of 25 people attending.

Hospitalizations

The boardsaid there were nine hospitalizations between Jan. 6 and Jan. 12 but that no one was medevaced to the South.

And one person inIvujivikhas died since the Omicron outbreak began.