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Nickel Belt News Nickel Belt News
Volume 58 Number 11
Friday, March 16, 2018
Thompson, Manitoba
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Wednesday, April 8, 2020
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Serving the Hub of the North since 1960
Volume 60 • Issue 15
Province should identify northern communities with confirmed COVID-19 cases, expand testing criteria more, says MP
Book a way to preserve and pass on memories of growing up in Churchill BY IAN GRAHAM
EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET
CITY LOOKING FOR SAFER HOMELESS HOUSING NEWS PAGE 2
Manitoba announced only one new case of COVID-19 April 6, bringing the provincial total to 204. Of those 204 cases there are 11 currently in hospital, seven of them in intensive care. Two people who tested positive for the virus have died while 17 have recovered. The number of cases in the Northern Regional Health Authority area remains at two. Although Manitoba public health officials do not disclose the location of COVID-19 cases by community, one of them is believed to be a woman in Flin Flon whose family posted on Facebook that she had tested positive for the coronavirus. Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN) Chief Marcel Moody said in an update on the First Nation’s website April 3 that there was a case in Thompson but this remains unconfirmed. The City of Thompson said in a Facebook post April 4 that it didn’t have any information beyond that released by the provincial government but that it was likely the virus would arrive here if it hadn’t already. “Residents should have and continue to behave as if community transmission is possible,” said the city’s update. Churchill-Keewatinook Aski NDP MP Niki Ashton said the province should do more than identify the region a confirmed case is in. “We need to know which communities in the north
have confirmed cases,” she said April 6. “This is a matter of public health. People are already anxious. The guessing game that ensues after we know of a confirmed case is something that creates more anxiety. We should simply have our province state where the cases are.” Roussin said April 6 that wearing non-medical masks may help prevent people who don’t have symptoms from spreading the virus but that it would not do much to prevent them from contracting it. He also said people in First Nations and Northern Manitoba who attend testing sites after having been directed there by Health Links staff can receive a test even if they haven’t travelled recently. “If you’re mildly ill and without any underlying risk factors, my advice would be just to stay home,” said Roussin. “If people with symptoms attend in a First Nation community, in the north, they will be eligible for testing for COVID-19.” He said First Nations and remote communities are considered, along with other places like congregate settings such as prisons or jails, to be eligible for prioritized samples. Ashton said she welcomed expanded testing and would like to see the criteria broadened even more. “This should have been done earlier and we need to go further than people who are symptomatic,” Ashton
Thompson Citizen image courtesy of Public Health Agency of Canada Canada had nearly 16,000 COVID-19 cases and nearly 300 deaths related to the virus as of April 6. said. “We know that there is growing research about how asymptomatic people who may have been in contact with a confirmed case can also spread the virus. This something tha’ts been taken seriously by jurisdictions, including Germany, who do a lot of testing.” Manitoba’s chief nursing officer Lanette Siragusa said the fact that health care operations in Thompson rely on itinerant workers from outside the city and the province could pose a problem if more health care workers start testing positive for COVID-19 or showing symptoms and are unable to work. “That’s always a risk that we’re going to have to deal with,” she said. “It could be a problem. What we’re looking at is making sure we can support the sites to maintain oper-
ations. That may mean looking but the services are limited beat different staffing models, cause of the situation we’re which we don’t usually do in in.,” she said, explaining who PLASTIC BAGS MAKING normal times, but these are not low-acuity hospitals would be TEMPORARY COMEBACK normal times so there’s work for. “That would be really a NEWS going on to look at what would place to transition back home PAGE 5 that be and then also really be- to the community and so I ing able to support virtually. In guess it would depend on the Winnipeg, a lot of the ambu- level of service that is required. latory clinics have decreased. I can’t really predict how fast About 80 per cent of them are that’s going to happen and not seeing people in person exactly when but we will be anymore, they’re seeing them monitoring every day. We’re virtually and they’re offering planning in advance and we virtual support to their col- will make decisions as we leagues in rural and Northern need to to expand space.” Manitoba so if they need an An isolation centre for internal medicine consult there people who tested positive is a way to access a specialist for COVID-19 or have been and it may be virtually but it’s exposed to a known case has still expert advice and support already been established and and if a transfer’s required we opened in a Winnipeg hotel. INTERNET THERAPY TO will make it happen.” About 13,500 people have EASE MANITOBA ANXIETY Manitoba Premier Brian been tested for the coronavirus NEWS Pallister said April 3 that the in Manitoba as of April 5. PAGE 6 province had issued a request As of April 6, there were for proposals for temporary 15,822 probable or confirmed Nickel Beltvases News of photo Ian Graham in low-acuity hospitals in Winnithe by coronavirus Addictions Foundation of Manitoba northern director Gisele deMeulles has written a book about her experiences growing up,peg, mostly in Churchill. Brandon and Thompson. Canada and 293 people had Siragusa also said that any died, including 62 people in BY IAN GRAHAM Forprevious all the harsh weather to write things that you have ‘Oh, I’m just as bad, right?’ was not a very safe thing swallow say to the decisionwhen aboutpeople whether 24 hours. EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET to figure out. It’s pretty clear I have all these stories and to do but I jumped at it. I that residents the dangers of polar openChurchill a temporary hospital and Any person concerned Though she’s now written when I get through.” I need to capture them for thought that was exciting should find on somewhere said iftoitor wouldjust depend the volume bears, aboutdeMeulles their exposure a book about her experienDeMeulles said she wrote my grandchildren really until the plane landed and easier to live. had been viable she would of patients and their needs. risk of having COVID-19 ces growing up in Churchill, her book, titled Whispers in because they will be lost if they started throwing the “To say, ‘Those people have moved back to Church“That may be patients who should call Health Links– Addictions Foundation of the Wind: Stories from the I don’t.” fuel off and I realized, ‘Holy choose live there. Theybut ill Info in a Santé heartbeat. could to typically go home at 204-788-8200 thompsoncitizen.net/covid-19 Manitoba northern director North - Life in Churchill for She also has a reputation cats, I was probably sitting should just leave,’ is quite “I miss shoreline, I maybe the home environ- or toll-freethe at 1-888-315-9257 Gisele deMeulles said writ- a couple of reasons. as a storyteller herself. on a bomb.’” simplistic. It’s quite disremiss the rock, I miss ment’s not ready for them or to be screened to see if the a test ing wasn’t something she “I just sort of thought, “I had such a varied hisAnother thing that spectful. If weneed werehome in the bears even though maybe they care polar is required.
UP-TO-THE-MINUTE CORONAVIRUS UPDATES AT
always thought she would do. “In my youth I never felt good at writing,” she
you know what, this history, this stuff that’s in my head, it’s going to be gone if I don’t write it down,” she
tory and I would tell people stories and they would go, ‘That’s not true, is it?’ I’d go, ‘Yeah it’s true.’ They’d go,
spurred her on was the hard times facing Churchill since the Hudson Bay Railway suspended operations
same boat in another area I think we would scream about that so why don’t they have the option to do that?
they’re very dangerous and I really miss the Hudson Bay,” she says. “When I go back home, standing on the