COVID-19 Daily News Digest – December 22, 2020
Magnetawan First Nation has eight residents with COVID, Shawanaga First Nation testing residents after student tests positive
The Magnetawan First Nation, north of Parry Sound, had eight positive cases in total as of Monday. Six were diagnosed last week while the original two positive cases were diagnosed about a week and a half ago.
That information comes from Magnetawan Chief William Diabo who said a state of emergency and a voluntary lockdown remain in effect in the community of about 115 residents. He added about 50 people in the community have now been tested with others requesting tests that should be completed this week.
Curve Lake First Nation asking people to ‘think twice’ before visiting
“We are strongly recommending that all individuals from Red-Control or Grey Lockdown zones refrain from entering the community for any reason. “All seasonal residents are strongly discouraged from entering the community for any reason,” Whetung wrote.
Curve Lake First Nation council announced Friday it had decided to reopen the Oshkiigamong Early Learning Centre and Curve Lake School, which have been closed since the pandemic began, on Jan. 4, though it was unclear Monday if the reopening would be delayed because of the province’s lockdown.
COVID-19 outbreak declared at Coastal GasLink accommodation sites in northern B.C.
In a written statement, the health authority says 27 people have tested positive for the virus so far, and 17 cases are still active. The outbreak is at the 7 Mile Lodge in Burns Lake and the Little Rock Lake Lodge in Nechako.
Northern Health says it has issued an order to limit the work sites to all but essential workers until it approves a COVID-19 safety plan. It says the outbreak declaration will be in place for at least 28 days.
Coastal GasLink said in a written statement that its contractor, Pacific Atlantic Pipeline Construction, has also closed the Huckleberry Lodge near Houston, B.C., “out of an abundance of caution.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/covid-19-outbreak-coastal-gaslink-1.5849605
The initiative ensuring kids in northern Manitoba receive Christmas gifts
Donations to the toy drive will be used to buy toys for kids in remote Manitoba communities, such as Red Sucker Lake and Shamattawa, who wouldn’t otherwise be able to get them.
The goal of the fundraiser, which began on Friday, is $50,000, with organizers saying donations of all sizes have already been coming in.
“Overnight we quickly got $400 to $500 in donations in 10s and 20s and hundreds,” said Christopher Henry with Indigenous Canadian Medical Dispensaries.
Island Lake First Nations get rapid COVID-19 tests
“It’s a big step forward. It’s very beneficial for the community and the people,” said Dino Flett, chief of Garden Hill First Nation, about 475 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.
“We know how this virus plays. It’s very sneaky. It can get into our communities, and we’re just trying to protect people — our elders, our children and the vulnerable people.”
The rapid tests were made available through a partnership with Indigenous Canadian Medical Dispensaries, an Indigenous-owned company that works to improve health services for Indigenous people in Canada.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/island-lake-first-nations-get-rapid-covid-19-tests-1.5849906
Health Canada has final data needed from Moderna to make a decision on vaccine
The Moderna vaccine is only recommended for use on adults over the age of 18. Gauthier said clinical trials on adolescents began earlier this month and the vaccine will be tested on younger children in 2021.
Health Canada approved a vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech on Dec. 9 and vaccinations with that product began last week. It was about five days from the time the final documents were received until Pfizer got a green light, but Health Canada’s chief medical adviser Dr. Supriya Sharma has said Moderna’s production facilities are new to Health Canada and may take longer to review.
UK restriction only one small step
Canada acted swiftly Sunday night, falling in line with Britain’s European neighbours to block travellers who might be carrying a dreaded new strain of the coronavirus from the United Kingdom to this country. The new strain, which has been circulating in southern England since mid-September, may be more efficient than earlier varieties at attaching itself to and infecting human cells
Feds should detail vaccination plan for Indigenous communities: NDP
“When we speak of things like systemic racism that is baked into our system, I think this is the kind of manifestation of that,” he said. “It just is part of our normal response to not think of Indigenous health or to put it second and to accept that.”
Davies says Ottawa should consider flying people from remote communities to major centres to get the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and consider bringing the vaccine to central hubs in rural or remote areas.
U.S. Indigenous Communities Start Receiving COVID-19 Vaccines
The initial focus of the federal government’s Indian Health Service is to vaccinate health care workers at sovereign Indigenous nation clinics nationwide and urban clinics that provide care for off-reservation Native Americans, the Associated Press reported.
The agency received about 22,000 vaccine doses Monday at distribution centers on the Navajo Nation in Arizona and New Mexico and in cities such as Phoenix, where vaccinations were given Thursday to hundreds of health care workers who care for Native Americans.
https://www.physiciansweekly.com/u-s-indigenous-communities-start-receiving-covid-19-vaccines/
Health Officials Fear COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Suicide Spike Among Indigenous Youth
Tribal members typically lean on one another in times of crisis, but this time is different. The reservation is a COVID-19 hot spot. In remote Roosevelt County, which encompasses most of the reservation, more than 10% of the population has been infected with the coronavirus. The resulting social distancing has led tribal officials to worry the community will fail to see mental health warning signs among at-risk youth. So officials are focusing suicide prevention efforts on finding ways to help those kids remotely. “Our people have been through hardships and they’re still here, and they’ll still be here after this one as well,” says Don Wetzel, tribal liaison for the Montana Office of Public Instruction and a member of the Blackfeet Nation. “I think if you want to look at resiliency in this country, you look at our Native Americans.”