COVID-19 in Indigenous communities: What you need to know
CBC
British Columbia announced Thursday that the province would be dropping its mask mandates effective Friday at midnight and a leader in northern B.C. has mixed feelings about the decision.
"I do have a bit of concern and I'm wondering if it's too early, but … I'm sure they have their experts looking into that," said Dianne Shanoss, executive director of the Gitanmaax Band, near Hazelton, B.C.
Shanoss, who is Gitxsan, said the band has close to 800 people living there and currently has active COVID-19 cases.
She said the band hasn't had any community lockdowns since April 2021, and they will continue to follow the province's lead when it comes to pandemic related guidelines.
She expects to meet with Gitanmaax community health leaders to decide what the next steps are going to be when it comes to pandemic related decisions.
Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) said that as of Mar. 9, the department is aware of a total of 3,016 hospitalizations in First Nations communities due to COVID-19, and 677 deaths.
According to data from ISC, there were 2,690 active cases of COVID-19 reported in First Nations as of Mar. 9. This is down from the 2,975 active cases reported as of Mar. 2. Case numbers may be understated as some provinces limit access to COVID-19 tests.
To date, ISC is aware of a total of 12,530 cases in First Nations communities due to the Omicron variant: 7,193 in Eastern Canada and 5,337 in Western Canada. A total of 134 First Nations have reported cases of the strain.
The government of Nunavut said as of Mar. 9, there were 472 active cases of COVID-19 in 22 communities.
To date, there have been 3,200 confirmed cases in Nunavut, 2,723 total recovered cases and five deaths. Nunavut says 28,244 people have received at least two vaccine doses.
If you think you might have COVID-19, please consult your local health department.
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