Northern Manitoba community asking for help amid rise in COVID-19 cases

WINNIPEG -

A northern Manitoba community is looking for government help amid a rise in COVID-19 cases.

In a statement on Thursday, Norway House Cree Nation Chief Larson Anderson said there are currently 84 active cases in the community. He noted that one person has died, and sent his condolences to her friends and family.

The chief said that most of the cases in Norway House are among people who are fully vaccinated, adding that they’ve also seen high case counts among children and adults aged 20 to 29 and 40 to 49.

Anderson said that at the beginning of the pandemic, Norway House created its own Pandemic Response Gauge.

“Norway House is in our Critical Red stage with staff working around the clock to contain the numbers with contact tracing, testing and isolation, community lockdown, school closure and essential businesses only,” he said in the statement.

“We are also doing mobile testing, community testing and vaccination.”

Anderson said half the cases in the community are from household contacts. He said other factors contributing to the emergency are overcrowded homes, a lack of proper heat and ventilation, limited health-care services, and underlying health issues.

He is calling on provincial and federal governments to step up and help the community.

Anderson added that taking preventative measures with limited resources is difficult without the cooperation of the community’s stakeholders.

“There are some things beyond our control that they must assist with,” he said.

“We are fortunate that we are a very strong sovereign nation and have been able to do with what we have in our community.”