Norway House Cree Nation calls for help as COVID-19 cases climb – CBC

First Nation has already locked down community, closed school, shuttered non-essential businesses

Oct 18, 2021

The chief of a northern Manitoba First Nation is asking the federal and provincial governments for help as his community battles an outbreak of COVID-19.

Norway House Cree Nation has 109 active cases of the coronavirus as of Saturday, and despite all the best efforts of community leadership and health-care workers, more help is needed, Chief Larson Anderson said in a news release on Monday.

“We need a team that will come in to assist with the contact tracing and testing. Our teams are exhausted and burnt out,” he said.

The community, which is about 510 kilometres north of Winnipeg, has already introduced a number of restrictions, including implementing a lockdown, closing the school and shuttering everything but essential businesses.

The biggest problem is overcrowded housing, Anderson said.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/norway-house-cree-nation-covid-19-outbreak-1.6215365