'Exactly what we were afraid of': COVID-19 spreading among Sandy Bay First Nation children
COVID-19 cases are growing among children on Sandy Bay First Nation in Manitoba.
"I think where it started at the beginning was two children that are going to schools outside of the reserve," said the community's pandemic coordinator Virginia Lukianchuk.
"We've had remote learning in our community for some time because this is exactly what we were afraid of."
Lukianchuk said there are currently 31 active COVID-19 cases in the community. Of those, 16 are among children under the age of 18 -- some as young as 16 months old.
Currently, 37 homes are in isolation.
"It is really concerning, but we also have to remember that a lot of the homes are overcrowded," said Lukianchuk.
"There are a lot of children in one home, and if you have one positive child, it's hard to get them to isolate from the other children, so this is where we're seeing the spread within homes."
Most of the cases are the B.1.1.7 variant, also known as the Alpha variant.
Lukianchuk said the community has been under a stay-at-home order for several weeks, has an 11 p.m. curfew in place, and has been following the provincial COVID-19 rules and restrictions.
She said approximately 50 per cent of Sandy Bay's adult population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and about 25 per cent has been fully vaccinated.
Across the province, data up until June 10 shows 50.3 per cent of those living on reserve have been fully vaccinated while 31.9 per cent of First Nations people off-reserve have received both doses.
Pfizer is currently the only vaccine approved for those aged 12 to 17, but Moderna is what has been primarily available for First Nations communities.
"We have allocated Pfizer doses to our First Nations partners to be able to ensure that all youth who would like to be vaccinated on First Nations are able to," said Johanu Botha, co-lead of Manitoba's Vaccine Implementation Task Force.
Clinics have been held in Sandy Bay and will continue to help vaccinate youth.
"[Uptake is] not as good as we would like, but we're still seeing a pretty good uptake," said Lukianchuk.
"It's been a lot better just in this past week because of the numbers of the virus spreading amongst children, so we are getting a decent uptake now."
Members of Sandy Bay are being reminded to only leave their homes for essential reasons and to not gather with anyone outside their household at this time.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Quebec judge orders bus driver to stand trial for 2023 daycare crash deaths
A judge has ordered a Quebec man to stand trial on charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of two children killed when a bus rammed into a Montreal-area daycare last year.
Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.