COVID-19 Daily News Digest – April 28, 2020
Guelph company develops rapid, portable COVID-19 test kit
“We have used this on tailgates of pickup trucks … we’ve used it on boats. It’s very rugged, very robust,” said Thomas. “It can give results now … when central lab testing is not possible.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/guelph-covid-19-test-kids-1.5545313?cmp=rss
The Coronavirus Crisis in Bolsonaro’s Brazil
When faced with the coronavirus outbreak, Bolsonaro responded that Brazilians are immune from diseases and won’t “catch a thing,” adding that “God is Brazilian.”
That’s the worst part. All of the media attention is about the coronavirus crisis, but the thing is that the rain forest is still suffering, and we still have a record amount of of deforestation. No one is paying attention, but it is still happening.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-coronavirus-crisis-in-bolsonaros-brazil
Covid-19 in the global community
This led me to ask: ‘What challenges are posed by the Maasai culture in implementing measures given by the WHO?’ Of the 75 Maasai interviewed (30 women and 45 men), they all confirmed that it is very difficult to take concrete action at household level to protect themselves, their families and the community at large due to the Maasai cultural system.
https://theecologist.org/2020/apr/27/covid-19-global-community
Update: Bishops in Amazon urge Peru to guard indigenous needs during pandemic
In rural parts of the Amazon, some indigenous communities have barred outsiders from entering in an effort to keep the pandemic at bay. In others, families are leaving the main part of their communities and taking refuge in the forest, planning to hunt, gather forest plants and tend small gardens for food until the pandemic passes.
Some semi-nomadic groups living in the heavily forested region along the border between Peru and Brazil have done that for generations. They are at particular risk because, while no one is immune to COVID-19, they also lack resistance to illnesses such as flu or the common cold.
Consultation and Engagement with Indigenous Peoples During COVID-19
COVID-19 is affecting how the Crown and proponents consult and engage with Indigenous peoples. Like many governments and organizations, Indigenous communities are taking actions to address COVID-19, including by closing offices and redirecting resources to help manage the community’s response to the pandemic
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/consultation-and-engagement-with-17877/
Head On(line) Festival features range of First Nations themes and ideas
Getting creative amid COVID-19 restrictions, Head On Photo Festival has this year become Head On(line) Festival as they transition exhibitions and festival talks to a digital platform.
Running online from May 1-17, the festival boasts strong themes of Australia’s First Peoples throughout
How a January meeting laid groundwork for Indigenous Services’ response to COVID-19
“We anticipated that COVID-19 would have a presence in Canada, we anticipated … that there would be positive cases in First Nations communities,” said Gideon, who is Mi’kmaw from Gesgapegiag in Quebec.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/coronavirus-indigenous-services-planning-1.5544632
Amazonian indigenous communities face an existential threat from COVID-19, outsiders and the Brazilian government
Bolsonaro is dismissive of the coronavirus, having called it “a little flu,” joined anti-lockdown rallies and fired his health minister. These actions have contributed to the country’s large number of cases, which Brazilian researchers claim is over 280,000, far more than the official tally of 43,000. And throughout the crisis, Bolsonaro has only amped up efforts to open the Amazon to development
Minister says COVID-19 is empowering domestic violence abusers as rates rise in parts of Canada
“I think the federal government needs to be sending the message loud and clear that if your home is not safe, you do not need to stay in that home.”
“Your immediate safety is more important than physical distancing or self isolation,” Henry said.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/domestic-violence-rates-rising-due-to-covid19-1.5545851
Ontario has a COVID-19 reopening plan, but it comes with big caveats
The plan says the government will be consulting with businesses, social service providers, Indigenous communities and post-secondary schools in the coming days. The province will also give a set of guidelines to businesses that are allowed to reopen, and step up workplace inspections.
Vancouver Coastal Health expands COVID-19 testing
While any individual with symptoms can be tested, those in the following groups will receive priority:
· Individuals with a higher probability of being infected with COVID-19 such as contacts of a known case of COVID-19 and travellers just returned to Canada.
· Residents of remote, isolated or Indigenous communities
· People living in congregate settings such as work camps, correctional facilities, shelters, group homes, assisted living and seniors’ residences
https://www.prpeak.com/news/vancouver-coastal-health-expands-covid-19-testing-1.24125208
Friendship centre finds new ways of supporting community despite lack of money from feds
“They want us to work together but yet we’re put against each other when it comes to funding.”
Odawa is also running its food bank out of rented storage PODS and hastily purchased freezers because its headquarters is located within a school, meaning workers can’t access the building as long as the provincial state of emergency remains in effect.
1 in 4 Alberta COVID-19 cases now tied to meat plant, as outbreak spreads to nearby First Nation
There are now 15 cases of COVID-19 within Stoney Nakoda Nation — 14 in Eden Valley and one in Morley. The Nation is located west of Calgary and east of Canmore along the Trans-Canada Highway.
Ryan Robb, CEO for Stoney Tribal Administration and the deputy incident commander for the Nation’s COVID-19 response, said contact tracing has led public health officials to believe some of the cases are related to the Cargill meat-packing facility in nearby High River, as some Nation members work at the plant.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/outbreak-bearspaw-first-nation-1.5547192
COVID-19 should steer us away from jails and towards restorative justice
Restorative justice brings together the offender, the victim, and their supporters with highly trained professional facilitators for meetings. Participants share stories, ask difficult questions, and agree to an appropriate resolution. Restorative justice has been used for centuries among Indigenous peoples. It has proven effective not only in simple cases of assault and theft, but also in serious cases, such as drunk driving, home invasion, and sexual assault.
‘Terrible sadness’: Company confirms 25 COVID-19 cases, including 1 death, connected to Lac Des Iles mine
She noted all existing pandemic response protocols are being followed, including expanded screening for symptoms and a daily temperature check. As well, the company is continuing to collaborate with public health authorities and communicate regularly with all its stakeholders, including local Indigenous communities.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/lac-des-iles-25-cases-one-1.5546898
How One Native American Group Is Protecting Its Community from COVID-19
So far, there have been no confirmed cases of the virus on the Yurok Reservation.
One of the key ways the tribe is fending off coronavirus transmission is through culturally relevant public health messaging, says Virginia Hedrick, who directs the California Consortium for Urban Indian Health and was born and raised on the Yurok reservation.
That means using “targeted messaging that includes indigenous faces, indigenous colors, and baskets and things that relate to us,” she said.
Albuquerque looking at the COVID-19 response through an equity lens
“There’s no better time to be working on this topic,” Melendez told NM Political Report.
Keller’s hope is “to weave equity into everything we do.”
“We’re looking at systemic change that affects communities disproportionately,” Melendez said. “What can local government do differently to change those outcomes?”
Canada: Economic Resources For Indigenous Communities, Businesses & Individuals
Below is a brief summary of announced and available economic relief resources for Indigenous communities, businesses, and individuals and how these resources can be accessed.
One percent of reservation residents test positive for COVID
Last Wednesday, Navajo Nation joined in a lawsuit with 10 other tribes against the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury over COVID-19 funding.
The $8 billion was intended to help tribal governments fight the COVID-19 pandemic under the Coronavirus Relief Fund.
But it was reported the Secretary of the Treasury intended to fund over 230 Alaska Native Corporations using the funds. Alaska Native Corporations are for-profit corporations organized under state law and are owned by shareholders, including non-Indian shareholders. The 12 regional Alaska Native Corporations alone have over 138,000 shareholders; employ more than 43,000 people worldwide, and generated more than $10.5 billion in revenues in 2018.
COVID-19 delays opening of Indigenous Court in Williams Lake
“I think when we do get the go ahead and the timeline of when the Indigenous Court will have its first sitting in Williams Lake I want to do a meet and greet with all the elders,” Dick said. “I know they all know each other but just so they can see the faces of who was chosen to sit on that table and we can discuss the ceremony and any questions or concerns that they may have.”
Two Pandemics in the Ecuadorian Amazon: COVID-19 and Oil“
This is a critical situation for us,” said Carlos Jipa, a Kichwa and president of the region’s Federation of United Communes. “In the midst of this pandemic, the government has corralled us in every way. We can’t leave to make purchases. Now we can’t fish. We can’t drink water. The government has not provided assistance. We are worried about our brothers and sisters who can’t feed their children.”
https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/two-pandemics-ecuadorian-amazon-covid-19-and-oil