Covid-19 Daily News Digest – April 19, 2020
Officials in northern Saskatchean link COVID-19 cases with travel to Alberta
Officials in Alberta have been tracking an outbreak at the Kearl Lake oilsands work camp north of Fort McMuray, and Alberta’s chief medical officer of health said Friday the number of Alberta cases arising from that facility had risen to 12.
‘It’s unprecedented:’ Manitoba First Nation going ahead with band election
But First Nations in many regions voiced concern that if they chose to delay it would have a serious consequence — a gap in leadership during a health crisis.
The Indian Act says that a chief and council cannot extend their terms. First Nations communities were concerned that without an election, an interim government or third party would be put in place to lead the community.
BEYOND LOCAL: COVID-19 is an opportunity to rethink how we talk to kids about serious stuff
For many children, such as those who have experienced disease, natural disasters, poverty, homelessness, refugee dispossession or trauma — and for Black, racialized or Indigenous children who experience racism — the current pandemic isn’t the first time they’ve grappled with adversity. This is particularly true for those who face multiple or intersecting vulnerabilities and barriers.
IIT-D startup unveils indigenous N95 similar mask at Rs 45
The cost of N95 mask used for protection against Covid-19 in India is high, making it unaffordable for the masses. The ‘Kawach’ mask, developed by ETEX, is at par with N95 in terms of fitting and engineered filtration layer that could provide up to 98 per cent filtration efficiency
Coronavirus outbreak: Officials praise funding for Indigenous businesses, say they are ‘backbones of communities’ across Canada
On Saturday, Minister of Indigenous Services Marc Miller spoke about the emergency funding announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to help stabilize indigenous business amid the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that their businesses are “the backbones of communities” across Canada and are integral to the indigenous economy
Metis actress Tantoo Cardinal reflects on COVID19 from isolation in LA home
“What changes are going to manifest out of this? What can we create from here? We have a responsibility to take back or own lives. And we have an opportunity to create something that’s really healthy and substantial.”
Incredible risk in our food system’: Thunder Bay food strategy says lessons to be learned from pandemic
“We all talk about ‘we want to get back to normal’ but the reality is for many people in this city, in this country, normal was already a crisis.”
He said statistics show that even before the pandemic about 4.4-million Canadians had inadequate access to food due to financial constraints, with numbers being even higher in remote, rural, northern and Indigenous communities.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/thunder-bay-food-strategy-pandemic-risk-1.5536600
Trudeau: Canada, U.S. strike deal to extend border restrictions by 30 days
“We have succeeded in maintaining the appropriate flow of medical goods in both directions,” he said. “This being said, we need to be vigilant because that relationship is going to be tested for the rest of the crisis.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-saturday-covid-19-update-1.5537251
Indigenous leaders say federal authorities need to address outbreak at Mission Institution
“He tried to convey that they have things under control,” Mr. White said of Mr. Boucher, “and there was no sense that what we were talking about on the phone was a serious and urgent health crisis where lives were at risk.” Mr. White also said Mr. Boucher did not provide clarity on CSC’s policies around releasing inmates during the pandemic
Police investigate COVID-19 threats to Chinese restaurant, Indigenous people
“It is unacceptable that some members of our community are weaponizing this pandemic to make others feel even more vulnerable than everyone already does. We won’t ignore it.”
GUEST COLUMN: Mental health and COVID-19: successfully navigating this storm
Crisis situations require everyone to adapt to new challenges and new realities. For some, adapting to a new challenge, never faced before, can be a greater challenge because people may not have developed the skills to deal with the hardships.
How did we get here? A timeline of COVID-19 in the N.W.T
When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit Canada, every day was filled with life-changing headlines.From closed borders to gathering bans, a lot has changed since that first case was announced on Jan. 25.
Now that news is not breaking quite so quickly, here’s a look back on how the pandemic changed things day by day in the N.W.T.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/covid-19-timeline-nwt-1.5536145
Housing is health: Coronavirus highlights the dangers of the housing crisis in Canada’s North
“Elders and knowledge keepers have always told us ‘a day will come, when we will need to go to the land’ and now is that time,” wrote Dene Nation Chief Norman Yakeleya in a news release. “With the closing of the schools, this is also an opportunity for families and their children to learn more about our culture and traditions and what has sustained us as Dene people for thousands of years.”