WINNIPEG -- A Manitoba First Nation has gone into lockdown after its largest-ever single-day spike in COVID-19 cases.

As of noon on May 11, Sagkeeng First Nation saw 20 new cases in a single day, bringing the total number of active cases to 48. It also reported seven new variant cases.

According to a COVID-19 update from the community, this is the highest number of new cases in a single day and the largest number of active cases the community has had at one time.

“It is a significant number, in my eyes,” said Chief Derrick Henderson of Sagkeeng First Nation. “If you have people still going out into the community, on the regular day-to-day, it could spread pretty fast. And we all know this B.1.1.7 is very transmissible.”

As a result of this spike in cases, Sagkeeng First Nation went into lockdown on Wednesday at 8 p.m. This means that no one will be allowed past the checkpoints without a pass.

The First Nation noted that vaccine clinics are being planned for May 20 and 21 at the band hall. These clinics will coincide with the “open” days of the lockdown next week.

Sagkeeng added it is conducting contact tracing for all the new cases, and it expects the number of people self-isolating to increase.