Minister pleads with First Nations to halt large gatherings
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/02/2021 (1705 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
OTTAWA — The federal government has urged First Nations to stop having mass gatherings at funerals, which have sparked COVID-19 outbreaks in Manitoba.
“Funerals and weddings, as you can imagine, are highly emotional events where people do let down their guard (and) are a source of super-spreading. There’s no denying that,” federal Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said Thursday.
“Any of these events are a cause of great concern.”
Manitoba reserves have reported outbreaks linked to funerals, some adding up to more than 150 contacts.
In recent weeks, First Nations leaders in Manitoba have pleaded with residents not to hold such gatherings because the First Nations pandemic team has become exhausted as it responds to multiple outbreaks.
Miller said the Manitoba team has done an “exceptional job,” and Ottawa has worked with bands since the start of the pandemic to convince them not to hold mass gatherings — and to use protocols to reduce risk when they go ahead.
“It continues to be a real threat,” Miller said, noting that one funeral in an unspecified province resulted in COVID-19 cases in 14 Indigenous communities.
“It is always a very, very direct conversation with health-care teams on-reserve and leadership.”
Premier Brian Pallister had chided Miller for not asking Peguis First Nations to cancel its “relaxed” Christmas lockdown, which ultimately did not spark an outbreak.
Valerie Gideon, a senior official in Miller’s department, said proactive messaging from Manitoba chiefs seems to have had a positive effect.
“We can see that with the reduction in the numbers of active cases in Manitoba, which has been pretty dramatic over the last two weeks, that certainly what communities are doing is working.”
“People are tired, and I think we have to recognize not just the social challenges but also the mental-health challenges that result from prolonged periods of social isolation.”
dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca