In the first wave of the pandemic, most of Manitoba's COVID-19 cases were connected to travel, so when First Nations locked down, they managed to keep the coronavirus out. Dr. Tom Wong, chief medical officer of public health at Indigenous Services Canada, left, and Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller leave a news conference on COVID-19 on March 19. In Manitoba, however, the statistics in Indigenous communities are moving in the opposite direction, which is "disturbing," Wong said. The money Ottawa provided can be spent on everything from pandemic supplies like plexiglass to security at checkpoints and mental health services. Ottawa has also sent 44 paramedics and nearly 200 nurses into Indigenous communities across Canada and made 160 temporary structures available for isolation and testing sites.

Source: CBC News November 14, 2020 01:52 UTC