The Walpole Island Powwow, planned for August 21 to August 22, 2021 has been postponed to a date to be determined.
Walpole Island officials made the announcement on social media on Thursday, August 12, 2021.
“A number of public health concerns have arisen since the date for the powwow was scheduled,” Walpole Island officials say.
“Most of the United States and parts of Ontario are experiencing surges of the COVID-19 Delta variant. This variant has shown higher transmission, even among vaccinated individuals.”
Walpole officials say U.S. non-essential travel into Canada is now permitted.
“The U.S. has less stringent public health measures in place, and transmission of COVID-19 has been on the rise throughout the U.S.” officials say.
“There are emerging concerns that the vaccine may become less effective after six months, and that those who were first vaccinated (mostly elders) may be at risk. When the powwow was planned, it was expected that children under 12 would have access to the vaccine by August. However, the vaccine has still not been approved for young children.”
Walpole Island officials say several area powwows have experienced COVID-19 outbreaks in recent weeks.
“We acknowledge that community members were looking forward to the powwow as a ‘return to normal’, but at this (time) the risks now outweigh the potential benefit,” Walpole Island officials say.
“We urge community members to continue to practice social distancing and other safety measures. Be especially mindful when travelling to the United States. Please keep in mind that U.S. may pose additional risks when it comes to contracting COVID-19 due to different public safety protocols and a lower vaccination rate. It is up to all of us to help keep COVID-19 out of our community.”
As of Wednesday, Walpole officials said there are zero active COVID-19 cases on the First Nations reserve.
