Risks to essential services (note from Regional Director, A. Fall)

Risks to essential services (from Andrew Fall, Lasqueti Regional Director)

COVID-19 poses significant risks to the health and well-being of our community. Ideally, we take immediate actions to prevent infection and spread on Lasqueti. However, it only takes a few people to act without caution to undermine the efforts of many in our community.

If you are planning to come or remain on Lasqueti during the outbreak, please consider the following risks to some essential services:

1. The ferry service may be disrupted, reduced or cancelled with little notice.
   Active ferry restrictions:
   • Maximum number of passengers reduced to 20
   • Essential travel only
   • Maintain physical distancing of 2 metres (6 feet)
   • No non-essential freight (no building supplies, furniture, etc.)
   • Do not board ferry to unload freight - crew will unload freight to dock
     https://lasqueti.ca/node/6571

   Water taxi service may also be disrupted or unavailable without notice.
     => Expect to remain on Lasqueti for an extended period.
    

2. First Responder services are limited and may be disrupted or unavailable without notice.
   Health services have already been reduced, and the nurse clinic is now temporarily closed.
    => Expect to take care of the health and safety of your own family.
    
3. Local services are limited and may be disrupted or unavailable without notice.
   Grocery stores in Parksville have already reduced delivery to the ferry, and many on Vancouver Island have multi-week back orders.
     => Expect to be mostly self-sufficient at your own home.

If you are hoping to visit for the short term, please consider postponing your visit until the pandemic is over.   "Now is not the time to be visiting the islands”  Islands Trust News Release, Mar. 22, 2020

If you are a member of the community and are planning to stay here over the coming months, please be prepared for challenges, consider how you can minimize your impact on essential services, and be prepared to pitch in to help where and when assistance is needed to protect the health and well-being of our community.  

If you are currently on Lasqueti and feel that remaining here may pose too much risk for you, please make alternate plans as soon as possible.

It is important for us to act in a unified way to take care of our community, especially our most vulnerable, and to ensure that we don’t over-burden our essential services (especially the ferry and our First Responders).

If you want to offer to help, please contact Darcy Pascall, our local emergency coordinator / Deputy Fire Chief, at darcypascall [at] gmail [dot] com or via Facebook.

You are welcome to contact me as well (I am trying to stay in place at my home as much as possible).

Andrew Fall
Lasqueti Regional Director