No curfew in Kahnawake

The curfew decreed by the provincial government does not apply to Kahnawake. The Kahnawake Peacekeepers confirmed this on their Facebook page Thursday. However, residents will be subject to fines by outside police services, if they are discovered outside of the territory past the set curfew time, specifies the Aboriginal Peacekeepers police force. “Please act accordingly,” the Peacekeepers advise. The Quebec government decreed a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. from January 9 to February 8 in an attempt to halt the transmission of COVID-19. Kahnawake is adopting its own measures against the pandemic. Among other things, people are urged to stay home; get-togethers of more than six people are forbidden, and only essential businesses are authorized to open during the entire month of January. Tobacco boutiques, manufacturers, warehouses and hair/beauty salons are closed. «We have been very proactive with our measures and we are not at the point where we do need to implement that, but we do have to stay home. The measures that Québec is putting in place is to force people into their home to  actually try to save people's lives. Here we are begging you to stay home without having to force you to stay home. These next few weeks are extremely important», said Kateri Hospital executive director Lisa Westaway in a video on January 7. (Translation Dan Rosenburg)