COVID-19 Daily News Digest – September 11, 2020
Despite early, strict quarantine measures, Peru has worst COVID-19 death rate in the world
Peru is now the country with the most severe coronavirus outbreak in the world by most key metrics, despite having declared what came to be one of the strictest and longest quarantines in the world on March 15, when military and police flooded the streets to enforce stay-at-home orders.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/article245600805.html
Provincial research network aims to improve health outcomes for Indigenous Peoples
The network’s virtual launch in June included sharing best practices and innovations already occurring within Indigenous primary care in the province during the COVID-19 pandemic. These included an incident command structure with weekly video conferences involving 46 Indigenous health centres, a COVID response unit going to homes seven days a week to conduct testing, offering language translations within call centres, and co-ordinating translation for Indigenous Elders.
Charting a Post-Pandemic Path for Urban Indigenous People
“There’s a gap in the research and the data that establishes the needs of the urban Indigenous population and also provides information around the needs for COVID-19 response,” said Bingham. While B.C. collects data about status First Nations people, those who are displaced from their homelands or who do not have status are not included in these measures.
“We have really amazing community-based services that are offering people cultural supports and are able to mobilize really quickly,” she added. “So it’s just a matter of breaking down some of the barriers to getting the adequate support to these agencies who are already doing all of this hard work.”
https://thetyee.ca/News/2020/09/10/Post-Pandemic-Path-Urban-Indigenous/
BEYOND LOCAL: COVID-19 may present the opportunity to embrace outdoor education
Many educators and organizations already devoted to land-based learning are adapting to the COVID-19 context. Some Inuit educators are welcoming the opportunity to reiterate the significance of teaching traditional skills that will allow survival on the land.
Policy-makers could support schools everywhere to take students outside to learn to plant a vegetable garden, catch a fish, raise a chicken and learn many other land-based skills.
COVID-19 Complicates Native American Census Count
“Historically, the trust issue is that those aren’t designated tribal reservation areas,” she said. “That’s why they’re hard to count, and that’s why they fall through the cracks. Because it’s not a tribally designated area. It’s a ceded land.”
She goes on to explain that despite efforts by the government to fix problems, doubts are widespread, and some point to that as a reason to avoid taking the census.
Grappling with loss of life and connection, Native youth become leaders of tomorrow
Added Seth Stevens: “We don’t believe in coincidence. We have to believe, and even as Navajo believe, that this is for a purpose and reason, and we can easily miss it if we don’t really look into it. If we just focus on our pains, we can easily miss the purpose behind it.”
B.C. First Nation declares state of emergency due to COVID-19 outbreak
Tla’amin Nation leaders posted several statements online notifying residents of emergency measures that have been put in place as they work with provincial health authorities and the First Nations Health Authority to deal with the outbreak.
In addition to the four confirmed cases, several other people in the community are exhibiting symptoms, according to the Tla’amin Nation’s notice.
Ontario Boosts Mental-Health Funds For Front-Line Workers, Indigenous Kids
“We know this virus has had a wider impact. It shows itself through isolation, through burnout, through depression and anxiety,” Ford said. “Our front-line workers are not immune to it. Our young people are not immune to it.” Seven million dollars in funding, given through the province’s Support for People and Jobs Fund, is earmarked to safely expand in-person mental health and addictions services.
Indigenous artist to receive recognition for handcrafted masks
Breathe. is a project co-created by Métis artists, Nathalie Bertin and Lisa Shepherd through a Facebook group, inviting various artists to create masks that would reflect emotions felt during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It started from seeing the posting on the Breathe. page. I saw that post in March, and I decided to make a mask to help me cope through the lockdown. I was thankful seeing that post because it got me beading again as I haven’t beaded since December,” said Boehm on Thursday.
Indigenous Winnipeggers, visible minorities, people with disabilities hit harder by pandemic: city economist
Overall, the unemployment rate in the Winnipeg metropolitan area stood at 11.2 per cent in July, an increase of 5.8 per cent over the same time last year, Markowsky said.
The socio-economic impact of the pandemic has affected Indigenous people, visible minorities and people with disabilities at higher rate than other demographics, he said.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/economist-pandemic-impact-1.5719068
COVID-19 detection may be a flush away as N.W.T. begins testing wastewater
Testing wastewater has been found to uncover trends of COVID-19 in the community four to 10 days earlier than clinical data would, the territory says, by detecting its presence in asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic populations.
While the possible presence of COVID-19 found in the sewage won’t necessarily mean there’s active transmission in the community, it’s possible it will serve as an early warning system for the territory, the release states. It could also help the health and social services system target advice to communities as the pandemic continues.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/covid-19-testing-in-sewage-n-w-t-1.5719123