Northern First Nations initiate pandemic lockdowns

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This article was published 06/01/2022 (1711 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At least 10 northern Manitoba First Nations are under lockdowns or travel restrictions amid the growing threat of the Omicron variant, with some having declared states of emergency.

Garrison Settee, grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, plans to meet with MKO leaders Friday to discuss concerns about the rising COVID-19 cases in northern First Nations, MKO stated in a news release Thursday.

Data from the Manitoba First Nations Pandemic Response Coordination Team show there were 311 new COVID-19 cases among First Nations residents on- and off-reserve Thursday. First Nations people account for one-third of COVID-19 patients in Manitoba ICUs, it said.

The rate of new cases in First Nations communities is about 12 per cent of Manitoba’s total, according to the co-ordination team’s data.

There have been cases of Omicron detected among Manitobans who are First Nations, but earlier this week, deputy chief provincial public health officer Dr. Jazz Atwal said no cases involving the Omicron variant had yet been confirmed in northern Manitoba or within First Nations communities.

The case counts now are unreliable underestimates and it’s up to First Nations communities to take matters into their own hands, said Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias.

The First Nation has been trying to keep up with contact tracing, and it imposed travel restrictions on people coming and going from the community Dec. 31, but Monias said there’s high transmission in the community. He himself tested positive on a rapid test Wednesday.

“I’m a very careful person and I try to set an example. For this to hit me, it could hit anybody,” he said Thursday while isolating at home after experiencing cold- and flu-like symptoms that came on quickly.

Monias said he is fully vaccinated and had received his booster shot. He said he was glad he has space to stay isolated, but emphasized most in his community don’t.

He said more housing, isolation units and health-care resources are urgently required — a call he’s been echoing throughout the pandemic — but because of the overwhelming spread of COVID-19 in Canada, he feels governments have given up trying to contain it.

“They’re more interested in protecting the health-care system than protecting the health of the people,” Monias said.

The First Nations that have imposed lockdown and/or travel bans include: Barren Lands (Brochet), Bunibonibee (Oxford House), God’s Lake (God’s Lake Narrows), Northlands (Lac Brochet), Manto Sipi (God’s River), Marcel Colomb (Lynn Lake), Nisichawayasihk (Nelson House), Pimicikamak (Cross Lake), Sayisi Dene (Tadoule Lake), and Tataskweyak (Split Lake).

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca