COVID-19 Daily News Digest – April 24, 2020
Gull Bay First Nation confirms 6 positive COVID-19 cases
“We have more positive cases on a per capita basis than the country of Italy. Of all the cases in the Thunder Bay District, we have ten per cent of the cases.”
Four new COVID-19 cases announced
One of those cases, a woman in her 40s, is listed as hospitalized. A second woman, in her 30s from Thunder Bay and surrounding area, is also hospitalized, bringing the total number of confirmed cases at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre to five.
https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/four-new-covid-19-cases-announced-2274605
Blueberry First Nations Warned of COVID-19 Threat. Now the Pandemic Has Reached Them
“You can’t expect to have the general population follow very rigorous and strict practices and yet allow industry just to continue in very concentrated and close proximity.”
“We are very concerned for our Elders. Our Elders are central to our community; we rely upon them for leadership, community cohesion and transmission of our culture,” the letter says. He adds that homes on reserve often house multiple generations and substandard living conditions in many residences add to the urgency.”
https://thetyee.ca/News/2020/04/23/Blueberry-First-Nations-Pandemic/
Northern Alberta community confirms province’s first known COVID-19 case on a First Nation
In a Facebook post earlier this week, the Sucker Creek First Nation posted a memo dated April 20 from the community’s chief to its emergency team, stating that earlier in the day it was confirmed that someone in the community has COVID-19.
Bimaadzwin COVID-19 Bulletin for First Nations and Indigenous peoples
This morning we have been informed that Gull Bay First Nation has six confirmed cases of COVID-19 and that there may be more. Bimaadzwin has already connected Gull Bay with www.conquercovid19.ca who will supply donated masks and sanitizer that are much needed in the community. This is a stark reminder that people must continue to self isolate and disinfect when they do have to leave their homes.
With 22 COVID-19 cases confirmed in Indigenous communities, leaders urge officials to disclose locations
“If we don’t have good data to tell us where the outbreaks are happening, then our communities aren’t able to do what they need to do to ensure their safety,” said van der Woerd, a researcher and instructor at Simon Fraser University.
“We have this colonial system that’s been allowed to be there and it has limited our ability to respond in a pandemic,” said Turpel-Lafond, who recently wrote a paper looking at the implications of limited rights for Indigenous people during a pandemic.
B.C. First Nation locks down after contact with released inmate who tested positive for coronavirus
Tl’etinox Chief Joe Alphonse said the man had been recently released from the Mission Institution last week was being escorted by a volunteer to a halfway house in Prince George when he stopped in the community to visit a family member.
First Nations near Manitoba’s Keeyask Hydro project want it shut down
“We need to be stepping up our efforts and that means making sure workers at Keeyask are safe right now, and it also means that if Keeyask cannot operate without contractors coming in and out then we have to be looking and talking about a temporary shut down as many First Nations and the partner First Nations have already raised,” NDP MP Niki Ashton told APTN News.
COVID-19 Outbreak – Gull Bay First Nation Highest Per Capita of Ontario First Nations
The community which is located an hour from the Lac Des Illes Mine has many community members who work at the mine. Concerns on how the COVID-19 virus got into the community are focused on either the mine or Thunder Bay.
Ottawa working to secure PPE, more COVID-19 test kits, additional funds for First Nations, Hajdu says
“One of the First Nations in my riding used some of those additional funds to put together care packages for elders that are living in not necessarily on a First Nation but that are living in in Thunder Bay or in other smaller communities on the north shore to make sure that they have what they need,” she said.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/hajdu-secure-resources-first-nations-1.5542398