COVID-19 in Indigenous communities: What you need to know – CBC
Active cases on First Nations continue to trend downward
Mar 10, 2022
British Columbia announced Thursday that the province would be dropping its mask mandates effective Friday at midnight and a leader in northern B.C. has mixed feelings about the decision.
“I do have a bit of concern and I’m wondering if it’s too early, but … I’m sure they have their experts looking into that,” said Dianne Shanoss, executive director of the Gitanmaax Band, near Hazelton, B.C.
Shanoss, who is Gitxsan, said the band has close to 800 people living there and currently has active COVID-19 cases.
She said the band hasn’t had any community lockdowns since April 2021, and they will continue to follow the province’s lead when it comes to pandemic related guidelines.
She expects to meet with Gitanmaax community health leaders to decide what the next steps are going to be when it comes to pandemic related decisions.
