PRINCE ALBERT An outbreak in the northern Saskatchewan community of Hatchet Lake Dene Nation is linked to 109 cases of COVID-19, according to the Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority’s (NITHA) medical health officer. Dr. Nnamdi Ndubuka said the spike began at private gatherings where people weren’t following public health orders. But the outbreak wouldn’t have been so widespread with a higher vaccine rate, he said. “This happened in just over a week, so that also adds to how severe the situation is currently,” said Ndubuka. NITHA – which serves northern Saskatchewan Indigenous communities – declared an outbreak in Hatchet Lake Dene Nation on June 28. Hatchet Lake is located by Wollaston Lake, about 700 km north of Prince Albert.
Leaders call for help in wake of COVID-19 outbreak in Hatchet Lake
PAGC Grand Chief Brian Hardlotte Herald file photo.
First Nations leaders are calling on both levels of government to provide the resources and the support needed to address the health crisis intensified by the outbreak of COVID-19 in the northern community of Hatchet Lake Denesuline Nation.
The community of 2,069 has been on complete lockdown since June 30 and all residents are deemed a close contact and in isolation. As of today, there are 14 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported in the community, bringing the total to 109 cases linked to the outbreak.
The coronavirus. (Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota/Twitter)
As many Saskatchewan communities watch their COVID-19 case numbers drop, the Hatchet Lake Dene Nation including Wollaston Lake is dealing with a fast-moving outbreak.
The outbreak was declared June 28. Before that, there were fewer than 10 COVID-19 cases in the community, but as of Monday morning, there were 96 cases associated with the outbreak, according to Dr. Nnamdi Ndubuka, medical health officer with the Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority (NITHA).
Fourteen of the 96 cases are variants of concern and Ndubuka believes they’ll be confirmed to be the Delta variant first identified in India.
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