COVID-19 Daily News Digest – July 25, 2020
Yukoners turn to farming to build self-sufficiency, market for local food
Strengthening food security in Yukon is a multi-layered task, said Gray, from developing backyard gardens to larger commercial operations with enough local processing and inspection capacity.
The large grocery chains in Yukon have well-established supply agreements and inspection protocols that make it difficult for smaller producers to get their products onto those shelves, he said.
Cuthand: Changes made on First Nations due to the pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed life for everyone and it is no different in Indian Country. However, this is where the cultural differences become obvious.The community isolation has been highly successful with very few COVID-19 cases in Indian Country. Most of the province’s First Nations still maintain a roadblock where only residents and essential personnel are able to pass through.
ASSEMBLY OF FIRST NATIONS KNOWLEDGE KEEPERS COVID-19 MESSAGE
With the gradual re-opening of communities, businesses, and schools, our social circles will become larger and we will interact with more people from within and outside of our communities. Please apply the direction of our leaders and practice physical distancing, practice good hand hygiene, limit large gatherings, and wear a mask inside public spaces. You may not feel sick, but you may be a carrier. Be reminded that there is strength in the practice of self-isolating, seeking medical attention, and getting tested for COVID-19 if you do feel sick or are in contact with a confirmed case.
https://www.afn.ca/assembly-of-first-nations-knowledge-keepers-covid-19-message/]
COVID-19 outbreak reported on Haida Gwaii
“All of the cases are epidemiologically linked; while the initial sources of transmission are still being investigated, it is believed that all cases are either residents who had recently travelled off-island or had exposure to other residents who had recently travelled off-island,” the statement said. “All of the active cases are self-isolating at home, and clear processes are in place for identifying and informing close contacts, so they can take appropriate precautions. There is no evidence at this time of wider community transmission of COVID-19 on Haida Gwaii. “
https://www.alaskahighwaynews.ca/covid-19-outbreak-reported-on-haida-gwaii-1.24176163
Northwestern B.C. sees spike in COVID-19 cases
On Thursday, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control released its two-week snapshot mapping the spread of the virus, indicating 11 new cases in the Northwest Health Service Delivery Area. The region had zero cases one week ago.
Also on Thursday, British Columbia’s Northern Health Authority, which covers the top two-thirds of the province, recorded its largest single-day increase in active COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/northern-b-c-covid-19-increase-1.5661268
Matawa says it needs $25 million in funding for schools during COVID-19
The funding would be used for upgrading schools and staff to meet health and safety guidelines related to COVID-19, increasing broadband connectivity, providing mental health supports, increasing land-based learning, increasing student transportation, providing personal protective equipment, providing schools with technological tools, equipment for at-home learning, and professional development on technology-based resources.
Indigenous leader hopes next premier will apologize to N.L. residential school survivors
The president of the Nunatsiavut government wants the next premier of Newfoundland and Labrador to fulfil a commitment to apologize to residential school survivors — a promise the outgoing premier will leave unkept.
Johannes Lampe said Friday he wants provincial apology ceremonies held in several Inuit communities once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and large numbers of people can gather for public events.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/lampe-residential-school-apology-1.5661591
Funding to help Indigenous businesses with online resources
“We are actively working with businesses to understand the unique challenges they face due to COVID-19,” Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Vic Fedeli said in a news release. “By partnering with the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Businesses, we are providing Indigenous businesses access to valuable information, training and programming that will help them recover safely and quickly.”
Compassion for an indigenous community during crisis
Could it be that we, non-indigenous people, are beginning to understand the value of cultural ways that actually co-evolved with the landscapes inhabited? Are we motivated to act compassionately not only for the sake of the vulnerable, but also for the sake of keeping alive these cultures which carry with them such wisdom? Perhaps our compassion also carries with it a seed of reciprocity, a growing receptivity to listening to our indigenous elders and, in turn, increasing the likelihood of a compassionate future for all of us and for future generations.
https://www.reformer.com/stories/compassion-for-an-indigenous-community-during-crisis,609964
Care services are to key to pandemic recovery for women
It is now well-documented that the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic crisis has disproportionately affected women, especially Black, Indigenous, and racialized women, women with disabilities and newcomer and immigrant women.
Economist Armine Yalnizyan has called the COVID-19 economic fallout a “she-cession.” The disappearance of jobs in majority-women sectors such as retail meant that in March the decline in employment for women was twice that of men. As the economy reopens, men’s jobs are returning faster than women’s.
3 new motel shelters open for high-risk houseless residents during COVID-19
In July, shelter residents began moving into three new physical distancing motel shelters: the Banfield Value Inn in Northeast Portland, a Motel 6 and a Days Inn. The shelters provide more space for high-risk adults, in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19. JOHS is working with nonprofit partners to move those adults throughout the shelter system into the new locations. In total, these three shelters will provide rooms for more than 150 adults.
Indigenous input vital to a just immigration policy
Indigenous people are sidelined when it comes to deciding who settles on this land. The entire immigration system — from initial entry to naturalization — remains steeped in colonialism. This system fails to foster a setter community that affirms the rights of Indigenous people as the original occupants of the land and that honours the treaties Indigenous people have made with the settlers.
Indigenous health research teams moving to Station 20 West
The move comes weeks after the U of S announced the closure of an outreach office at Station 20 West that had a similar goal of bridging the gap between communities and researchers. While the university cited a COVID-19 cash crunch as the reason for the closure, critics countered that the move revealed misplaced priorities.