COVID-19 Daily News Digest – July 21, 2020
Haida Gwaii resident reports positive COVID-19 test, prompting new measures to curb potential spread
The Haida Nation also said community members reported they were self-isolating after being notified of possible exposure, while the Skidegate Band and Old Massett Village councils implemented curfews and set up checkpoints between communities to slow any spread of the illness.
The report of the COVID-19 case came one day before a group of Indigenous fishers released an edited video of several vessels from a recently reopened fishing lodge speeding between their boats and the shore in an increasingly tense disagreement with some residents of Haida Gwaii.
Tensions between B.C. fishing lodges, Haida Nation escalate over COVID-19
Tensions have been rising on Haida Gwaii since the luxury fishing lodge, which is on the northernmost island of the archipelago, reopened despite a state of emergency in the Haida Nation because of COVID-19.
Gaandlee Guu Jaalang member Adeana Young says the video illustrates how fishing lodges view the Haida people as an inconvenience, and put profit over safety
In southern Mexico, many indigenous do not accept existence of Covid-19
on Good Friday more than 4,000 people took to the streets and they were packed in very tight. They couldn’t even walk carrying the Nazarene,” Fr Andrade recalled. “For people here, their customs, their traditions, are stronger than any order that comes from the pope.”
Victoria Native Friendship seasonal shelter closure sheds light on Indigenous homelessness amid surge of community support
The 25-bed shelter, which usually operates from November through March, was able to stay open for three additional months due to extra funding provided by the BC Housing Management Commission. The decision to keep the shelter open longer came with the onset of COVID-19 and the necessity of making sure that all those who had the option to shelter in place could do so. Unfortunately, with funds running out, the shelter was forced to make preparations for closure last month, and while they tried to get their guests spots in other shelters, they were ultimately unsuccessful.
Discrimination amid pandemic
During the ongoing pandemic, racism was quick to surface but other types of discriminations have also followed. These include domestic violence against women and children, discrimination faced by the refugees and civilian population affected by armed conflicts, people with disabilities, transgender communities, and indigenous people. Chinese residing in Pakistan as well as ‘Zaireen’ arriving from Iran were blamed for spreading the virus, and discriminated against.
https://nation.com.pk/20-Jul-2020/discrimination-amid-pandemic
India’s first indigenous COVID19 vaccine COVAXIN human trial begins, 10 things you need to know
Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is an “inactivated” vaccine, which is made using particles of the Covid-19 virus that were killed so that they would not be able to infect or replicate in those injected with it. Injecting particular doses of these particles serves to build immunity by helping the body create antibodies against the dead virus, according to the firm.
Indigenous people especially ‘vulnerable’ to coronavirus pandemic, WHO warns
Director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that as of July 6, there were more than 70,000 cases reported among indigenous peoples in the Americas, with more than 2,000 deaths.
“Indigenous peoples often have a high burden of poverty, unemployment, malnutrition and both communicable and non-communicable diseases, making them more vulnerable to COVID-19 and its severe outcomes,” he told a virtual briefing from the U.N. agency’s headquarters in Geneva.
Thunberg donates funds to fight Amazon COVID-19 spread
Thunberg announced on Twitter on Monday that the funds will be given to SOS Amazonia, a campaign led by climate protest group Fridays For Future Brazil, the BBC reported.
It will be the first donation to come from a $1.14 million windfall Thunberg received for being awarded the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity.
Petition calling on feds improve COVID-19 help for Indigenous communities reaches milestone
A petition launched by former Ontario chief Isadore Day in April and sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, several of his ministers and health advisors demanding that the government do more to help Indigenous communities deal with COVID-19 now has more than 50,000 signatures on it.
To date, Ottawa has spent $212 billion in direct COVID-19 aid to mainstream Canada but the petitioners said that money aimed at helping First Nation, Metis and Inuit communities has not kept up.
“This is simply unacceptable. While there have been additional investments made for Indigenous communities many Indigenous leaders and health organizations are calling for more assistance and supplies,” said the petition
Bristol Bay, Alaska, wards off coronavirus spread among locals while seasonal fishery workers fall ill
City, tribal, and hospital leaders had tried to stop the workers’ arrival, sending a series of letters to Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy urging him to shut down an industry that makes up 40 percent of the global sockeye salmon haul, and brings in $700 million each summer. They feared the coronavirus would take root in the population of 6,700 locals. With limited medical resources and only 15 hospital beds for an area roughly the same size as Virginia, it wasn’t worth the risk, they argued.