Indigenous Services Canada COVID-19 update - Week of March 17, 2022

March 17, 2022 — Ottawa, Ontario, Traditional unceded Algonquin Territory — Indigenous Services Canada

Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) commends the tireless work of community leadership and frontline healthcare workers for their immense and ongoing contributions to their communities’ pandemic response. Their efforts and quick action continue to save lives.

First Nations, Inuit and Métis across the country have access to vaccines through vaccine clinics, which are well underway in Indigenous communities. Now is the time to get vaccinated to protect your community, your Elders and your family.

Below are some of the latest updates from ISC for the week of March 14, 2022.

Vaccinations

As of March 16, 2022, over 88% of individuals aged 12 and older in First Nations, Inuit and territorial communities have received a second dose of an approved COVID-19 vaccine, and over 28% have received a third dose. Over 51% of children aged 5 to 11 have received at least one dose.

Vaccine information is updated and published on Thursdays and can be found at canada.ca/covid-vaccines-indigenous.

COVID-19 cases

As of March 16, 2022, the following case counts have been reported from First Nations communities:

• 91,307 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases, of which 12,909 are the Omicron variant
• 2,581 active cases
• 3,037 hospitalizations
• 88,044 recovered cases
• 682 deaths

For the week of March 10 to 16, 2022, the average daily reported active case counts dropped by 6.2% compared to the daily average of the week prior.

This is compared with a(n)

• 11% decrease in average daily reported active case counts reported for the week of March 3 to 9, 2022, compared to the week prior
• 10.7% decrease in average daily reported active case counts reported for the week of February 24 to March 2, 2022, compared to the week prior

In February 2022, the rate of newly reported hospitalizations in First Nations communities* dropped by 56% compared to the month prior, representing 32% higher than the respective rate in the general Canadian population.

• This compares to:
  • An increase of 2.5 times the rate of newly reported hospitalizations in First Nations communities in January 2022

* Includes First Nations communities in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.

Case count information is updated and published daily Monday through Friday and can be found at Canada.ca/indigenous-covid-cases.

Request for Federal Assistance (RFA) approvals and extensions

• Kashechewan First Nation’s (Ontario) RFA was approved on February 1, 2022, and subsequently extended by two weeks. A new RFA approved on March 2, 2022, continued CAF support; a two-week extension was approved on March 16 with an end date of March 30, 2022.
• Attawapiskat First Nation’s (Ontario) RFA was approved on February 16, 2022, with an end date of March 16. A new RFA for continued CAF support until at least March 30 was approved on March 16.
• Kasabonika Lake First Nation’s (Ontario) RFA was approved on February 25, 2022. A two-week extension of support was approved until at least March 24, 2022.
• Mishkeegogamang First Nation’s (Ontario) RFA was approved on February 9, 2022. A new RFA was approved for continued support until at least March 19, 2022.

RFA recent conclusions

• The Operation REMOTE IMMUNITY 3.0 RFA was approved on November 10, 2021. The RFA will remain active until March 31, 2022, to address any unforeseen support requirements.

Supports currently available to First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities

Across the country, ISC Regional Offices and Regional Medical Officers of Health remain available to assist First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities and organizations should they require immediate assistance with an outbreak or require supports such as temporary infrastructure, rapid testing or PPE.

Indigenous communities and organizations can also continue to request needs-based funding from the Indigenous Community Support Fund. This fund provides Indigenous leadership and organizations with the flexibility needed to design and implement community-based solutions to prevent, prepare for and respond to the spread of COVID-19 within their communities.

These funds can be used for measures including, but not limited to,

• support for Elders and vulnerable community members.
• measures to address food insecurity, such as support for the purchase, transportation and distribution of food, and access to traditional foods through hunting and fishing.
• educational and other support for children.
• mental health assistance and emergency response services.
• preparedness measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

ISC continues to work with Indigenous communities to collaborate, share information and co-develop Indigenous-led, distinctions-based communications and health response approaches with Indigenous partners by listening to their advice and guidance.