COVID-19 Daily News Digest – September 14, 2020
In Our Words: Travel restrictions could be useful – if they’re actually enforced
Notice the start of those sentences – if you say. You don’t necessarily have to be telling the truth – you just have to say it. Even in the unlikely chance you get caught, who’s going to check your story?
If the province really cared about keeping northerners (and other Manitobans) safe, it would ensure nobody, aside from essential workers, would be able to leave COVID-19 hotbeds like Brandon and some parts of Winnipeg without a mask, a negative test, a temperature check and any possible further checks. These are the places where COVID-19 is at it worst right now, after all.
Beaded COVID-19 mask honours Cree and Indigenous communities’ response to pandemic
She recently finished a beaded deerskin mask. Weistche said it was her son Tristan who encouraged her to make a mask, as it was becoming a trend on social media to share photos of unique masks people were wearing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“I beaded 10 flowers that represent all the Cree communities in Eeyou Istchee,” said Weistche, using the traditional name for the Cree territory in Quebec.
“At the front of the mask, I beaded the image of a COVID-19 [molecule] that also looks like a stop sign,” said Weistche, adding it represents the idea of blocking the virus.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/beaded-covid-19-mask-cree-indigenous-1.5718890
Sunday Navajo Nation COVID-19 Update: Total Cases Approaches 10,000
“Our daily numbers of new COVID-19 cases will continue to fluctuate, but our goal is to keep the numbers as low as possible. We do not know the impact of the Labor Day weekend yet, but we are optimistic that our Navajo people continue to practice all of the preventative measures recommended by our health care experts. During the 32-hour partial weekend lockdown, please use this time to prepare for the upcoming winter season, to self-respond for the 2020 Census, and to spend time with your loved ones at home. Please continue to wear your masks, wash your hands, practice social distancing, avoid large crowds, and stay home as much as possible. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those who have lost loved ones due to COVID-19,” Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said.
COVID-19: Cases double in Coast Salish First Nations community
The Tla’amin Nation outbreak is the second largest of any Indigenous community in B.C., after the 26-case Haida Gwaii outbreak that was declared over at the end of August.
“We are very concerned about air quality and how this will impact our relatives recovering from COVID-19,” Williams said. “Just as we are starting to feel optimistic that our aggressive measures are paying off, the air quality advisory adds a new challenge.”
https://vancouversun.com/news/covid-19-cases-double-in-coast-salish-first-nations-community
COVID-19 case reported in Penticton Indian Band, contact tracing underway
“The Penticton Indian Band Emergency Operations Centre has just been notified of a positive COVID 19 test result within our PIB community. The PIB nursing team are in the early stages of contact tracing,” reads the notice. “It has been strongly recommended that anyone who attended the wake and/or funeral of our Nation member in Oliver on Sept. 10 and 11 self-isolate immediately, and self-monitor for symptoms such as fever, chills, cough, runny nose, shortness of breath, sore throat, fatigue.”
Indigenous Tribes Are Using Drones to Protect the Amazon
Within the first month of drone surveillance, the tribe discovered an area of about 494 acres being illegally deforested within their reserve, Reuters reported. Days later, a helicopter spread grass seed on the plot, indicating that the land would be used for cattle pasture; Awapy’s team caught it all on drone video, reported CNN.