First Nations in Ontario’s northwest limit journey, some in lockdown over Omicron issues

Northwestern Ontario First Nations will be on lockdown as the Omicron variant and a surge in COVID-19 cases pose a threat to dozens of people northern parishes.

The regional lockdown came into effect Thursday after 33 First Nation chiefs passed a resolution aimed at restricting travel in and out of communities.

The resolution also aims to increase support and coordination between various partners to help respond to a pandemic and preserve the already limited resources in some communities.

“A small, remote First Nations community, when it has … a community-level COVID outbreak, can really cripple a community in terms of its day-to-day operations,” said Dr. Lloyd Douglas, Senior Public Health Physician for the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority (SLFNHA).

Douglas told CBC News in an interview that he called the general assembly with the leaders of every ward in the SLFNHA drainage area after the agency began seeing the “writing on the wall” when positive cases surfaced in recent days.

Dr. Lloyd Douglas, the public health doctor and incident commander of the COVID-19 response team at Sioux Lookout’s First Nations Health Authority, said about 70 cases were confirmed in six First Nations as of Thursday (Source: Northern Ontario School of Medicine)

Douglas said about 70 cases were confirmed in six First Nations as of Thursday.

The lockdown means restrictions on indoor gatherings and “serious” non-essential travel restrictions, with each parish closely monitoring its boundaries, Douglas said.

Congregation leaders directed SLFNHA to take a lead role in a regional pandemic response to avoid further burdening the northern First Nation in the event of an outbreak. The health authority will also provide all 33 municipalities with information on the duration of the lockdown.

Douglas calls the assembly’s decision a “take a break” and will be re-evaluating it over the next two weeks.

Lockdown strengthens existing restrictions

For some communities that put restrictions in place earlier this month, not much will change about the lockdown.

Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug was the first to restrict travel on December 13th. Parishioners were allowed to travel to smaller local communities such as Sioux Lookout, Dryden, and Kenora. But onward travel that is not absolutely necessary, for example to larger metropolitan areas such as Winnipeg or Thunder Bay, has already been restricted.

Chief Donny Morris told CBC News that the regional response will only “tighten” current restrictions.

“Our doctors will discuss all patients with our membership and decide who can go out urgently for medical reasons. And at the moment nobody is allowed to travel just to travel, ”he told CBC News in an interview.

“This is real, this is coming and we must have all means to prepare our community to prevent this virus from entering.”

Bearskin Lake First Nation in an emergency

The regional lockdown comes as Bearskin Lake First Nation, more than 600 kilometers north of Thunder Bay, has seen a surge in COVID-19 cases with a test positive rate of over 50 percent over two days.

The situation in Bearskin First Nation put additional strains on the local nursing station, management and even the day-to-day running of the community. Douglas said the strain there and in other communities is what they are trying to avoid moving forward.

A state of emergency was declared more than 600 kilometers north of Thunder Bay on Wednesday in Bearskin Lake First Nation, where fewer than 400 people live on the reservation. (CBC News)

“We have to bring additional resources from outside the community into these First Nations communities, and that in itself is extremely stressful, extremely challenging,” said Douglas.

“We don’t want our communities crippled during this process, and when we look at the provincial resources, other agencies and ministries, particularly health and human resources, they are all very, very thin at this point.”

Calls for help

The resolution, passed on Thursday, calls on Tribal Councils, Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), the Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Center (SLMHC), health units, airlines serving the northern First Nations, and various agencies and provincial and federal governments to work together . Ordination and support.

NAN, a political organization representing 49 northern First Nations in Ontario, is also calling on both governments to act urgently to assist leaders throughout NAN territory.

“Many communities are losing their ability to care for their members and have exhausted their limited resources,” said a NAN news release on Thursday.

Derek Fox, Grand Chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), calls the sudden surge in positive cases across the region “very alarming and requires an urgent response”. (Nishnawbe Aski Nation)

“This includes basic needs such as drinking water and food supplies for the isolated people, wood and fuel for heat and [preventive] Measures to alleviate overcrowding and housing shortages that will help contain the spread of the infection. “

On Thursday, NAN reported 89 active cases in nine of its parishes, not all of which are serviced by SLFNHA. Communities include Fort Albany, Ginoogaming, Moose Factory, Sandy Lake, Poplar Hill, Lac Seul, Bearskin Lake, Kashechewan, and Marten Falls.