COVID-19 Daily News Digest – October 29, 2020
Ontario Launching COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream
“Getting shovels in the ground on new infrastructure projects across the province will be a critical component of our path to long-term economic recovery,” said Premier Ford. “Not only will this investment help communities build the necessary infrastructure to keep Ontarians safe and healthy, but these projects will create hundreds of local construction jobs and support local businesses and suppliers. It’s a win-win for the home team.”
https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/58972/ontario-launching-covid-19-resilience-infrastructure-stream
Native American Schools Continue To Struggle With Remote School In The Day Of Coronavirus
According to the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), there are 52 schools operated by the BIE along with 134 schools which are tribal controlled. Many of the students who attend these schools lack just the basic necessities in order to consider their homes modern. Wi-fi isn’t in every home and isn’t available to every Native student. Some live in near poverty in homes without regular electricity and water, let alone devices to learn remotely.
https://www.moms.com/native-american-schools-struggle-remote-school/
Canada’s COVID-19 Immunity Task Force funds national study looking at seroprevalence of COVID-19 antibodies among high-risk populations
“CanPath’s large number of participants, pan-Canadian reach, and population coverage enable us to detect differences in exposure and immunity among Canadians. We can capture how age, sex, socio-demographic factors, geography, genetics and health history impact varying immune responses to COVID-19 in Canada,” says Dr. Philip Awadalla, National Scientific Director of CanPath. “With data captured by the CanPath COVID-19 survey we rapidly implemented earlier this year, we are able to identify participants who may have been exposed as well as infected. We can also identify how pre-existing conditions, captured through health information routinely collected over the past decade, impact COVID-19 disease severity.”
York Region receives $8.4M from province to aid residents at risk, homeless
“The Social Services Relief Fund will help protect our most vulnerable citizens from COVID-19,” said MPP Kanapathi. “Our municipal and Indigenous partners are facing extraordinary challenges during this time. In Markham-Thornhill, those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, need these supports. This funding will go to where it’s needed most and will support long-term housing solutions for residents and community service providers.”
Students of Canada’s first Indigenous nursing program, based in Saskatoon, set to graduate in 2021
The school announced the successful start of the program’s second year last week.
“In the current climate, it is important that we empower Indigenous students with the tools to offer quality healthcare that reflects our communities and our citizens traditions and culture,” Vice President – Academic Tavia Laliberte said in a news release.
How these 3 Manitoba First Nations are working together to fight COVID-19, keep spirits up this Halloween
Jointly, the communities have a good discussion on how we can work together to limit the spread of COVID in our communities,” said Chief David Crate of Fisher River Cree Nation, about 175 kilometres north of Winnipeg, between nearby Peguis and Kinonjeoshtegon First Nations.
“The communities are actually side-by-side.… That’s been actually a difficult situation to manage, just because we’re so closely connected, and we have people travelling back and forth between the communities,” Crate said Tuesday. “We have fruitful discussions on how we can work together
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-first-nations-covid-19-1.5780279
COVID-19 numbers and news for Oct. 28
Indigenous bands along the west coast say their borders will remain closed to tourists and non-residents, despite the economic impact, as they work to raise awareness about the threat COVID-19 poses to their communities.
https://www.alaskahighwaynews.ca/fort-st-john/covid-19-numbers-and-news-for-oct-28-1.24098176
Young broadcasters to spur Indigenous language revitalization
Many language broadcasters “are all wonderful, but they’re getting older,” Avison said. “And they really don’t have anybody to backfill for them.”
Avison said “the radio’s always on” in many households, helping languages evolve to reflect daily life. Indigenous language broadcasting runs the gamut between news, announcements, storytelling, birthday greetings and words from elders, she said.
Durocher also noted many people, especially elders, are fluent in the language and tune in every day to hear them.