Native Women's Shelter forced to close after outbreak among staff

The Native Women's Shelter in Montreal, a vital service for the city's Indigenous population, hashad to close its doors because of COVID-19.

Nakuset, the shelter's executive director, said anoutbreak among much of her staff left her with little choice.

The seven women and three children who were living at the shelter will be safely housed at a hotel until the shelter can be cleaned and disinfected, she said.

"Staff can call the hotel, our psychologist can call the hotel and do sessions during the week," she said.

"So they still have those services that they used to get at the shelter and I am looking forward to opening the doors again starting fresh with a new set of rules."

She wouldn't say how many staff members had contracted the virus, citing privacy concerns.

Nakuset said public health officials should have done more to provide protective equipment and testing to prevent the spread of the virus among a vulnerable population.

Advocates for women want the province's shelters to have access to COVID-19 screening due to concerns women are staying away because of a required 14-day quarantine period.