COVID-19 Daily News Digest – October 13, 2020
47 cases of COVID-19 now linked to SPINCO outbreak
Four new, positive cases of COVID-19 have been reported on Six Nations, brining the number of active cases in the community to seven — five lab-confirmed and two probable — as of Friday.
The most recent cases mean there have been 11 new cases on Six Nations territory since the end of September
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/covid-spinco-six-nations-1.5758968
Indigenous communities lock down as COVID-19 spikes in northern Saskatchewan
Indigenous communities in northeast Saskatchewan are experiencing a spike in cases of COVID-19 tied to evangelical church meetings in Prince Albert where more than 100 people have been gathering to worship, often without face masks or following social distancing guidelines.
Native leaders discuss Indigenous Peoples’ Day in wake of COVID-19 pandemic
“As it relates to COVID, how hard it hit, it was on display for the entire world to see how much of a disproportion circumstances that many of the populations that Native Americans in New Mexico live in,” Lente said.
And as this day is celebrated across the country and world, New Mexico’s Native leaders hope that the contributions of the Indigenous peoples are not just remembered today, but all the time.
Concerns raised as number of COVID-19 cases surge on First Nations in Manitoba
She said there are now 143 active cases of COVID-19 among First Nations people in Manitoba which makes up 15 per cent of all active cases in the province.
Sixty of the cases are on reserves, and 83 are off reserves, she said.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/covid-19-manitoba-first-nations-health-risks-1.5757692
Manitoba’s opioid epidemic eclipsed by COVID-19, says mother of man who died in overdose
“People are turning their attention to COVID, rather than the real epidemic. In my opinion, the real epidemic is drug overdoses,” Swan said.
Manitoba has now seen more then 30 COVID-19-related deaths, but “I bet there are more people dying from overdoses,” said Swan. “What are we doing to protect and help those people? Not enough, if anything at all.”
Murray-Raske says while the pandemic is a huge issue, and COVID-19 is claiming lives, people may be forgetting the opioid crisis is surging with a vengeance. Four of his friends have died from overdoses during the pandemic, he said.
“The mental health aspect comes in too, when you are locked inside. You are secluded alone with your thoughts, and people can turn to bad things when that happens.”