Best Practices Surrounding Status Cards During COVID-19

Published: July 08 2020 13:36

Download PDF: COVID 19 ISC Best practices for expired status cards (192 KB)

A Notice From the Administrative Offices of Wasoqopa’q First Nation

Published: July 07 2020 12:57

Due to the ongoing global situation regarding novel coronavirus COVID-19, the administrative staff and offices of Wasoqoopa'q First Nation will not be closing for the traditional summer shut-down. This generally occurs during the last week of July and the first week of August. This year, the administrative offices will remain open and will continue to provide services and assistance to our members during these tough times. Stay safe and remember that we all must do our part to help prevent the spread of this dangerous virus in our communities.

Lloyd MacDougall
Band Manager
Wasoqoopa'q First Nation

Chief and Council Update | July 6, 2020

Published: July 06 2020 11:55

July 6, 2020

As we continue to deal with the global pandemic Wasoqopa'q First Nation is working hard to safely reopen our businesses, offices and restore programming.

We are pleased to report that our gaming facilities are now fully open with all VLT machines operating. All gas bars, stores and restaurants are also open with social distancing policies in place.

As of today, (July 6) our Yarmouth, Medway , Wildcat and one of the Gold River offices are open by appointment only. Our deemed essential workers are now back full time working in these offices. The carpentry crew will gradually begin operations. While some of the crew will begin July 6 others will return as more projects start and as required.

Our membership clerk will return August 4. Our Hammonds Plains and Shelburne offices as well as the Gold River Health centre will reopen September 8.  The Yarmouth Youth Centre is also expected to reopen Sept 8. Decisions surrounding Forestry Operations are ongoing.

Our Commercial Fishing operations have continued to operate throughout the pandemic. Fishers requiring tags for the FSC (Food Social and Ceremony) should contact our Fisheries Department to arrange. A copy of the FSC plan can be found on our website.

School supply applications are available on the website. Most students would of received in the mail. Please ensure they are mailed back in before the deadline.

Decisions regarding the upcoming election will be forthcoming.

We thank you all for your patience over these last few months. As we progress into the “New Normal” we ensure you that Wasoqopa'q First Nation remains strong and financially sound. While operations came to an abrupt halt disrupting main revenue sources we worked hard to mitigate the loss. Thank you to all staff who endured layoffs, reduced hours and to those who worked from home. You are appreciated.

Please practise proper hygiene and follow all public health directives. Together we will keep our communities safe.

Chief and Council
Wasoqopa'q First Nation

Health Update #10 with WFN Community Health Nurse

Published: June 19 2020 10:07

Hi everyone,

It’s an exciting day today in Nova Scotia! We have gone 9 days with no new cases of COVID-19, and only 2 cases remain active in the province. Today, Premier McNeil announced some big changes:

• Household bubbles are burst! You can now gather in groups of 10 or less without physical distancing. While this does not have to be the same group of 10, it is highly encouraged to stay consistent.
• You can now gather in groups of up to 50, as long as physical distancing is practiced. This can be done inside or outside.
• Playgrounds are now allowed to open. They may need to be checked, and fixed up before use, so they may not open immediately. Please be patient as these open.

These are very exciting steps being taken and I encourage you all to get out and enjoy the new lift in restrictions, but please remember to be cautious. Continue to wash your hands frequently, physical distance in groups larger than 10 and in public spaces, wear a mask when appropriate, stay home when feeling unwell and call 8-1-1 if showing symptoms. Remember the pandemic is not over, and we have to balance the “new normal” with the risk of overwhelming our healthcare system. With each new phase of normal, our risks do increase, and we don’t want to go backwards! Continue following public guidelines. Be kind. Be patient. Be vigilant.

Have a wonderful weekend, and wash your hands.

Chelsea Sawyer
Community Health Nurse
O: 902-627-1245
C: 902-277-2297

Chief and Council Update | June 9th, 2020

Published: June 10 2020 10:55

Chief and Council Update

June 9, 2020

The Chief and Council would like to thank all our band members at this time for your patience and understanding as we have navigated through these unprecedented times. We have faced many challenges over the past couple of months but we are pleased to report that we are starting to see some return to our operations at Wasoqopa'q First Nation. The Council continues to meet weekly by teleconference. As well our EMO team and other committees also continue to hold regular virtual meetings.

As you are aware our gaming operations were shut down by the Province in Mid March. During this time Wasoqopa'q First Nation worked on establishing protocols and guidelines that would allow us to safely reopen our gaming and other operations. Wasoqopa'q First Nation was a leader within First Nations to provide an operating plan that would ensure the safety of our staff, customers and community. Wasoqopa'q First Nation shared the plan with other First Nations and submitted the plan to Atlantic Lotto Corporation. Our plan goes above and beyond the requirements established by the Provincial Government. We are pleased to report our Gaming facilities were approved to come back online June 7. We were one of the first gaming facilities in the Province to get this approval. The Gold Nugget and Your Winners World Establishments were up and running on the morning of June 8. Our other establishments will follow within the coming days.

Wasoqopa'q First Nation is now in the recovery phase of operations. We, unfortunately, had to lay off the vast majority of our employees both at our stores and in Administration. Essential workers have been working from home and only in the office when necessary. Over the coming months, we will be working to gradually bring back our staff. This will be done in phases. The Yarmouth band office is now open to a limited number of employees. Our other office locations will be opening at later dates.

Our restaurants, The Gold Bean and Winners One Stop are both now open to indoor dining and our stores have opened to allow customers inside. Our Medway store and the gas bar was able to remain fully operational during the last couple months. Our other locations remained open for gas,cigarette sales and some pantry items. Thank you to all staff at these locations for all your hard work. You truly have done your best and we appreciate you being out there on the front lines of this Pandemic.

We want to take this time to congratulate our Graduates. We are proud of your accomplishments and wish you much success in your future endeavours. While we will not be able to hold our annual grading celebrations this year we will be sending our NS students in grades P to 12 a cheque for $50. We know you all worked hard and wish you all a wonderful summer.

We look forward to providing future updates as we progress over the coming months.

Chief and Council
Wasoqopa'q First Nation

Weekly Health Update #9 with AFN Community Health Nurse

Published: June 01 2020 16:43

Weekly health update with AFN Community Health Nurse

Hi Everyone,

Great to see the continued warm sunny weather, although the black flies really seem to be out enjoying it too. Please remember to keep up to date with the latest Covid-19 at novascotia.ca/coronavirus/ Frequent updates can also be found on our AFN Community Health Facebook Page. Practice basic prevention measures, and please continue to be cautious in public, especially with the relaxing of restrictions.

Last week we finished up our Get Up and Move Contest! Congratulations to Brittany Whynot, Myranda Roy, and Sophie Chetwynd. They all won a $50 gift card to their choices of Walmart or Amazon.

This week we are talking What’s For Dinner? I don’t know about all of you, but 3 meals (plus snacks) every day is a lot of time! So, lets help each other out and share what we’re eating. Show us what you’re eating in a picture, and give us the recipe. There will be a post each night on the Facebook page for you to post (or you can directly email me a photo and recipe). Each night you post earns 1 entry into the draw. At the end of the week, I will draw a name and they will win a $50 gift card to your choice of Sobeys or Superstore, that can be mailed directly to you.

If you’re having a hard time keeping up with meals, using a meal planner is a great way to help keep your meals and snacks balanced. Planning can also help make the most of a food budget, by using what you already have in the pantry, and planning multiple meals with the same main ingredients. The link below has some printable meal planners, or ideas of how to make your own in a notebook. Saving your meal plans and grocery lists can help you in the future by keeping them on rotate every 6-8 weeks.

https://www.livecrafteat.com/printable-weekly-meal-planner/

You can also go by themes, such as: Slow cooker Sunday, Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday, Fish Friday, Pasta Night, Soup and Sandwich, Breakfast for Dinner, Pizza Night, Salad Night, Lazy Leftovers, Casserole Night. Another way to make planning easier, is to make a master list of all the meals you typically make, and like. This way when you’re planning, you can pick meals that you know you already have the ingredients for.

Using frozen and canned vegetables (looking for lowest sodium content) is a great way to prevent wasted produce on items your may not use as frequently. Same can be done for fruits, using frozen fruits in smoothies, in muffins and pancakes, or on yogurt. When looking at canned/cups of fruit, look for packed preferably in water, or juice, trying to avoid packed in syrup.

Having balanced nutrition can help you feel good, and ensure you’re getting the nutrients you need for a strong immune system. Eating mindfully, allowing yourself to eat when hungry, and until you are full, and enjoying the foods you like are all important in having a good relationship with food. This is a particularly difficult time, and nutrition can be a tricky subject at the best of times. Eating to feel good, physically, mentally, and emotionally, is important. There is no “perfect diet”.

If there is a topic you’d like to see more about, such as nutrition, physical activity during isolation, coping strategies, child and youth health, etc. Please let me know and I can look into helping you as well as the community!

Stay safe and wash your hands

Chelsea Sawyer
Community Health Nurse
O: 902-627-1245
C: 902-277-2297

Best links to get information

Please see our Facebook page: AFN Community Health and answer the joining questions for access. Frequent updates, resources, and links will be posted there

Nova Scotia Government: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/

Nova Scotia Health Authority: http://www.nshealth.ca/coronavirus

Government of Canada: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection.html

World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

WHO advising on pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding: https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-on-covid-19-pregnancy-childbirth-and-breastfeeding

Mental Health Provincial Crisis Line: call 24/7 1-888-429-8167

Kids Help Phone: call 24/7 1-800-668-6868
text CONNECT to 686868
or chat online on their website