La Loche is eye of storm for COVID-19
Most active COVID-19 cases are in Indigenous communities, says researcher
A COVID -19 outbreak in Saskatchewan’s northwest has created a geographic and practical divide in the province’s fight against the virus.
As of Thursday, Saskatchewan has 196 known active COVID-19 cases, more than at any other point of the pandemic. More than 70 per cent of them — 138 as of Wednesday — are in La Loche, Beauval and nearby communities.
As most of the province prepares to start the second phase of the government’s economic reopening plan, La Loche remains on high alert.
“You’ve got a situation where in the vast majority of the province, the numbers are under control,” Health Minister Jim Reiter said Monday.
Some La Loche residents say that speaks to a bigger north-south divide.
Georgina Jolibois, the former NDP MP for Desnethé—missinippi—churchill River and former mayor of La Loche, said she’s seen online comments disparaging the small Dene community. She wants the province to pull together, not drift apart.
“(The government response) is perpetuating some stereotypes about people in the north, instead of taking the approach of ‘we are one province,’ ” she said.
Jolibois and La Loche resident Chester Herman said they’ve even seen online comments attacking the remote Dene community, blaming it for the outbreak.
“There’s a stigma on La Loche, like we have started this virus,” Herman said. “We just need help.”
Mayor Robert St. Pierre said he’s not aware of those comments.
“I think some peoples’ opinions shouldn’t override the fact that this is not originating from La Loche,” he said. “It’s a pandemic. It’s around the world.”
MULTIPLE DIVIDES
Some observers say the divide is more than geographic.
University of Saskatchewan Indigenous health professor Malcolm King said many have been worried that socioeconomic and health inequities in Indigenous communities would make them more vulnerable to the virus’s spread, and this outbreak has realized those fears.
“The south of the province, which is mostly non-indigenous, is mostly COVID-FREE. And most of the active cases are in the north, which is majority Indigenous,” King said.
Northern Inter-tribal Health Authority medical health officer Dr. Nnamdi Ndubuka said housing is crowded on nearby reserves, like English River First Nation and Clearwater River Dene Nation. Sometimes 15 people live in a single home, making physical distancing almost impossible.
La Loche only has two grocery stores, one of which is temporarily closed because an employee tested positive for COVID-19.
A 2018 University of Regina report on poverty in Saskatchewan found the poverty rate in the Desnethé—missinippi—churchill River riding was 22 per cent in 2016, compared to 12 per cent in Regina.
“All of these situations are bad enough to deal with,” Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron said. “When you compound that with COVID-19, it’s a tough situation for sure.”
TEST, TRACE, ISOLATE
Dr. Saqib Shahab, the province’s chief medical health officer, said the La Loche outbreak is concerning, but such local outbreaks are likely inevitable, even as the province moves to reopen parts of its economy.
The goal now is to test and track down the virus. The Saskatchewan Health Authority has deployed 19 contact tracing teams in the La Loche area, including door-todoor visits that CEO Scott Livingstone said will help find asymptomatic cases and educate the public about the virus.
As of Wednesday, 727 people had been tested.
The community has already lost two elders to the virus, Herman said.
“There’s a lot of frustration. There’s a lot of anger,” he said. “It’s really not about that. It’s about trying to get the numbers down in our community so that we can save lives.”