COVID-19 Daily News Digest – May 4, 2020
DJ blasts music from the parking lot for elders in Kahnawake hospital
“A whole bunch of people singing and dancing, and that was done for residents at the KMHC who were really overjoyed,” said Westaway.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/dj-music-elders-kahnawake-hospital-1.5552481
Results of indigenous test kits to be out soon
“What is needed is validation. Once it is received, all the three are ready to market their products. In fact, SCTIMST says it has the capacity to manufacture 75 lakh kits a month, enabling us to even send them to other states,” he added. Earlier, attending the interaction, Gangakhedkar said that India has evolved a strong Covid- 19 testing regime over the past three months and the country is now in a position to ramp up tests up to 1.25 lakh a day in the government sector.
Coronavirus — and red tape — are costing lives in Indian Country
Tribes and Indian health organizations have – in theory – received emergency funding in the first three coronavirus stimulus packages. However, most tribes have yet to receive any funding. There is currently no mechanism to distribute funds from the CDC to IHS and Indian health organizations. This has resulted in a dangerous delay in tribes’ ability to take action and provide care for their community.
Covid-19 pandemic: Munda people of Satkhira struggle for survival
Krishnapada Mandal, director of Sundarban Adibasi Munda Sangstha (SAMS), said the organisation was an NGO that worked for the welfare of the Munda community. “Unfortunately, we have not been able to provide relief materials among the community so far.”
Counseling Supports for Leaders during COVID-19
Ottawa doctors embrace telemedicine as Nunavut sees 1st COVID-19 case
We’re trying to do this in a way that is safe but also still allows this personal connection that we would normally have with families when they come in-person.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-nunavut-inuit-telemedicine-covid19-1.5553764
Mi’kmaw technology educators shift 3D printers to producing face shields
“When the country basically shut down, our team looked around and said ‘OK, what can we do to help our community?'” said Ulnooweg chief operating officer Chris Googoo, of We’koqm’aq First Nation.
“When the word got out, globally, about these 3D printers and their ability to make these face shields, it didn’t take us long to go searching for the specifications.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/mi-kmaw-3d-printers-ppe-coronavirus-1.5551215
Covid-19: India to prioritise acquisition of indigenous defence equipment over imported materiel
India’s federal government will further prioritise the procurement of locally made defence equipment over imported materiel as the military faces an impending financial resource crunch due to the economic impact of the Covid-19-coronavirus pandemic.
We are on the eve of a genocide’: Brazil urged to save Amazon tribes from Covid-19
“Five centuries ago, these ethnic groups were decimated by diseases brought by European colonisers … Now, with this new scourge spreading rapidly across Brazil … [they] may disappear completely since they have no means of combating Covid-19,” they wrote.
COVID-19: Rapid test recalled after Health Canada expresses concerns
Tam said the recall won’t affect the national testing goal of 60,000 people a day, since that figure is based on systems already in use, but that it could affect the speed of further test increases and especially affect rural communities where local in-clinic tests would be especially useful.
Northern Sask. leaders discuss military response to help contain COVID-19 outbreak
“I’m confident our guys at the checkpoint right now are able to handle the situation, they’ve been doing it very good since day one,” said Nick Daigneault, mayor of the Northern Village of Beauval. “I don’t feel we would need to have to go to that regard quite yet, as long as everybody’s co-operative, which they are right now.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/covid-19-northern-outbreak-1.5554120
Chiefs concerned about mental health impacts of COVID-19 in their First Nations
He echoed Mitsuing’s concerns about not having adequate supports that are permanent. He would like to see full-time crisis counsellors and staff and mental health crisis lines staffed by people in the community. However, he says his First Nation has not received the support from Ottawa or from the province necessary to make this happen.
“Everything is totally different now, and it’s going to be like this awhile and a lot of people are still scared,” he said
How history repeats itself in crisis, and who gets left behind | OPINION
We all can learn from the collective actions of the EBCI and other Indigenous communities. We can learn about how they have resisted, persisted, and thrived despite numerous challenges. We can learn about how even in times of great challenge, we can find enough to share with others in and outside our communities.
And, at this time in particular, we can learn more deeply about our interdependence, and how we can secure a more healthy future through our actions today.
Failure to provide Coronavirus relief money shows America never gets tired of sticking it to Indians
Part of the holdup has come about because the Treasury doesn’t normally interact with the tribes and has yet to come up with a distribution formula. Sen. Tom Udall, the New Mexico Democrat who is vice chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, told Bendery: “We’ve run into some serious problems. Treasury is not familiar with tribes. They don’t know how to interact in the appropriate way with tribes, and they’re just not getting the job done.”
Province defends COVID-19 checkpoints following criticism from Indigenous group
“The province says they want to work with us, but our input and efforts are being ignored,” he said.
Cameron, meanwhile, suggested in the news release that the outbreaks could have been prevented if the province had heeded his organization’s calls for checkpoints and border closures earlier.
Aboriginal Territorians are ‘significantly represented’ in disease outbreaks, but not coronavirus
“This needs to be given priority. We can’t wait for another virus to come along, we’re running on a bloody oily rag.”
12 new COVID-19 cases reported in Sask, 8 of those split between North and Far North regions
“The challenges in the north call for the immediate response of all levels of government to respond proactively to minimize the spread of the virus before it reaches unmanageable proportions,” said President McCallum in another statement.
The Indigenous Communities that Predicted Covid-19
“My people have cultural knowledge that says when Sibö, our God, created Earth, he locked up some bad spirits,” Romero said. “These spirits come out when we’re not respecting nature and living together.”
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200503-the-indigenous-communities-that-predicted-covid-19
Kenora arena to serve as COVID-19 centre for homeless
The isolation centre is operated by All Nations Health Partners, a coalition of municipal, Indigenous, and health organizations in the region. That include the City of Kenora, Grand Council Treaty 3, the Northwestern Health Unit, Lake of the Woods District Hospital, the Ne-Chee Friendship Centre, Kenora Chiefs Advisory, and more.
https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/kenora-arena-to-serve-as-covid-19-centre-for-homeless-2320832
First Nations chiefs raise alarm over mental health impacts of COVID-19
“Losing the youth really took a big toll out of our community. And I know it’s ongoing — people thinking about it all the time, can’t get past it,” he said.
“We’re not in that comfortable stage yet where we know it’s going to be all right.”
https://globalnews.ca/news/6898998/first-nations-chiefs-coronavirus-mental-health/
Three new COVID-19 cases announced, one hospitalized
The two other new cases include a man in his 30s identified as being part of a First Nations community, and a woman in her 40s in Thunder Bay or the surrounding area. Both are now self-isolating at home
https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/three-new-covid-19-cases-announced-one-hospitalized-2319953
Manitoulin town asks province to get involved over highways in M’Chigeeng
“They’re rerouted through the backroads on Manitoulin if they’re not allowed to pass through M’Chigeeng and they’re driving through roads that are less than highway standards,” said MacNevin. “In the spring the roads tend to heave with the ice and the thaw and the half-load and they’re not built for the volume of traffic that’s being steered through there and we’re concerned that something could happen, an accident,” he explained.