An outbreak was declared in Pelican Narrows earlier this week. (file photo/paNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

COVID Cases

PBCN chief hopeful coronavirus assistance will arrive soon

Nov 27, 2020 | 4:10 PM

Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation Chief Peter Beatty is hopeful help is on the way when it comes to preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

As of Nov. 26, Beatty said there were more than 90 active cases in his communities with hundreds of people in self-isolation because they’ve been named as close contacts. There are approximately 50 cases in Reindeer Lake, Southend and among residents north of Lac La Ronge with an additional 42 cases in Pelican Narrows. One coronavirus case is active in Deschambeault Lake.

Earlier this week, the Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority declared an outbreak in Pelican Narrows following an increasing number of confirmed cases with evidence of community transmission.

“We’re certainly scrambling for isolation units,” Beatty said. “I put in a call with Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) and also talked directly to the ISC Minister Marc Miller just briefly a number of days ago. We sent in a proposal based on our needs. That included isolation units for all of our communities. He was going to try expedite that.”

Beatty noted the band has eight isolation units, but those filled up in the matter of days. There are currently units in Deschambeault Lake, Pelican Narrows and Southend.

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Those three communities also have access to rapid testing, which can determine results between 45 minutes to one hour. Beatty explained staff have done a good job so far with the swabbing, determining the results and contact tracing when positive cases arise.

“We work closely with Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority, with our medical health office Dr. Nnamdi Ndubuka and we also are in contact with Saskatchewan Health Authority,” he said.

As of Nov. 27, there are 3,263 active cases of coronavirus in Saskatchewan out of 7,691 confirmed cases. There have been 4,384 recoveries.

Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation currently has a band membership of 11,227.

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno