Tammy Bannon, left, and her children walk outside their front door in Fort William First Nation as people prepare for a second wave of COVID-19.First Nations across Canada are having their own second wave of COVID-19 – a jump in case numbers that Indigenous leaders and federal officials are monitoring closely because of the virus’s potential to spread like wildfire in communities often far from medical care.
As of Monday, ISC was aware of 722 COVID-19 infections affecting First Nations since the pandemic began, noting 95 active cases, 60 hospitalizations, 614 recoveries and 13 deaths. Growth hasn’t just happened in First Nations, she said in an interview, adding there has also been significant growth provincewide, particularly on the Lower Mainland. She said the good news is that the clusters in First Nations are small.“What people are worried about is the kind of outbreak where we can’t trace; where we don’t know the source of the infection," she said.
As long as COVID-19 cases are increasing in Winnipeg, First Nations and northern communities will be vulnerable, Ms. Ashton said. She added that it is also difficult for communities to maintain their own restrictions if neighbouring, non-First Nation communities are open.