Coronavirus could decimate small and isolated communities in Nunavut – Macleans.ca
The wildfire spread of COVID-19 seen in places like nursing homes and cruise ships could similarly sweep the crowded homes in which nearly half of Nunavummiut live
As of April 16, none of the bar charts or logarithmic graphs showing the rise of COVID-19 in Canada have included Nunavut. That’s because the territory does not yet account for a single one of Canada’s 30,000 confirmed cases to date. But it stands to be one of the hardest hit regions in the country. The wildfire spread of COVID-19 seen in places like nursing homes, cruise ships, shelters and prisons could similarly sweep the crowded homes in which nearly half of Nunavummiut live. And given the scarcity of health resources and insecure access to food and water in parts of the region, the disease could decimate small and isolated Nunavut communities.
Nunavut’s vulnerability is apparent from previous outbreaks of infectious disease. In 2009, H1N1 influenza (also known as swine flu) swept across Canada in two waves, causing 505 deaths. Indigenous communities were hardest hit, accounting for nearly 46 per cent of hospitalizations during the first wave. Despite being less than four per cent of the Canadian population, Indigenous people accounted for 10 per cent of H1N1 deaths. The overall Canadian case rate was 24 per 100,000, but in Nunavut it was a shocking 1,000 per 100,000.
