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The number of cases linked to an outbreak on the Hatchet Lake Dene Nation has risen to 117, including 104 that are still considered active, Dr. Nnamdi Ndubuka, medical health officer with the Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority, told reporters on Wednesday.
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Ndubuka noted Hatchet Bay is a fly-in community without a hospital, which means the three people who remain in hospital from the outbreak had to be flown to facilities elsewhere in the province.
SASKATOON Saskatchewan s official opposition is calling for more action in the province s north as Hatchet Lake Dene Nation grapples with an outbreak linked to 109 cases as of Tuesday. “This is a crisis, and this government needs to act. Long-standing housing and infrastructure shortages in the community are making the problem worse,” said NDP northern affairs critic Doyle Vermette said in a news release. The party says it is concerned that 20 per cent of cases are thought to be related to the Delta variant strain of COVID-19. The NDP called on the Sask. Party government to take steps such as deploying mobile vaccination teams, work with leaders to increase vaccination rates in the north and address the looming crisis around lack of patients isolation space and potential need for ventilators.
Prince Albert Daily Herald
The Saskatchewan Legislature. Herald File Photo
The provincial NDP says Saskatchewan’s government needs to look at new ways to help reduce spread of COVID-19 in northern communities.
NDP opposition critic for northern affairs Doyle Vermette said the provincial government has been “missing in action” when it comes to helping residents in areas like Hatchet Lake Dene First Nation. The northern community of 2,069 people has been on lockdown since June 30, with more than 100 new COVID-19 cases reported in the past week.
“(The government) needs to get in there,” Vermette said during an interview. “They need to give the resources and support to the community. Everyone in the community, they’re all doing what they can do, but they have limited resources up there.”
Twenty one per cent of the cases (23) are variants of concern and confirmed to be the Delta variant first identified in India. Tsannie said nursing staff in the community are feeling overwhelmed, and added a further challenge is the community’s shortage of housing and overcrowding.
“There’s some places where there’s like 10 people in a house or even 12, and some do have cases,” he said.
All community activities have been grounded to a halt, but the band’s store remains open. Tsannie explained there are limits though on how many people can be in the store at one time, and there is mandatory masking. The transportation of food and fuel to the community by way of ferry, continues as normal.
More than 100 COVID-19 cases linked to First Nation outbreak in Sask. No COVID-19 outbreaks listed by the provincial government since June 25 as province nears complete removal of pandemic restrictions.
Author of the article: Phil Tank • Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Publishing date: Jul 06, 2021 • 2 hours ago • 3 minute read • A COVID-19 test specimen is collected from the swab in a container, which is then sent to the laboratory for processing. Photos taken in Regina, Sask. and supplied by the Saskatchewan Health Authority on June 12, 2020. Photo by MEDICAL MEDIA /jpg
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An outbreak in the Hatchet Lake Dene Nation declared last week is linked to multiple gatherings in the community, northern health officials say.