Jan 21, 2022: COVID UPDATES FOR NEYAASHIINIGMIING

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Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation Newsletter

COVID-19 UPDATES FOR NEYAASHIINIGMIING

Community Updates  | January 21, 2022

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There continues to be an active COVID-19 outbreak in Neyaashiinigmiing.
The community is currently closed to all except for residents, employees and essential services.
Band Buildings are currently closed to the public.
Essential Services such as Health and Social Assistance are still available by appointment only.

Ontario has now moved into a modified Step 2 of the Roadmap to Reopen.

Please continue to check our Nawash website (www.nawash.ca) and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/CONUFN) for any updates pertaining to COVID-19 and our community.

COVID-19 CASES IN NEYAASHIINIGMIING

As of Wed. Jan. 19, 2022

ACTIVE COVID-19 CASES IN HOSPITAL

As of Wed. Jan. 19, 2022

Please note discrepancies between reports from Public Health Grey Bruce and the Community Health Centre in Neyaashiinigmiing can be explained by multiple reasons:
• The province is providing millions of rapid tests to the public with no mandate to report to health units. Some of these results may or may not be reported to the health unit, the Nawash Community Health Centre or both.
• The daily number of new COVID-19 Cases is no longer a reliable indicator of the real number of cases and level of transmission in communities across Grey Bruce and the province. The Province direction has been to limit the eligibility of testing to high risk settings (hospital, long term care, first responders). This resulted in underestimate of the number of cases in the general public as most cases are not being tested.
• More precise indictors of the level of transmission is the number of hospitalized cases. (Actual cases hospitalized to treat COVID-19.)
• The active cases we (Neyaashiinigmiing) are publishing on our website & Facebook page include both PCR tests & Rapid COVID-19 tests. Grey Bruce County is only publishing positive PCR results.
• The resolved cases will also differ from data published by Public Health Grey Bruce due to the number of individuals isolating in Nawash from positive Rapid COVID-19 test results completed on the reserve.

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INFORMATION ABOUT: RITONAVIR/LOPINAVIR

ANTI-VIRAL TO DECREASE COVID-19 SYMPTOMS

Local physicians and nurse practitioners (including those from SOAHAC) are now offering an antiviral medication to decrease the symptoms or Covid-19.  This medication is only for those who are at high risk and have tested positive.

High risk individuals include;

  •         Anyone over the age of 60 years and are unvaccinated or under-vaccinated,
  •         Anyone over the age of 60 years who are immunocompromised (chemotherapy, transplants)
  •        Anyone over the age of 50 years and has a chronic health condition.

Medication must be taken within seven days of showing symptoms or testing positive in order to be effective.

Please contact your health care practitioner for further information.

Ritonavir can be prescribed when appropriate through your health care practitioner or the local emergency department.

Vaccination remains the best option for the prevention of COVID-19.

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GREY BRUCE HEALTH UNIT – REPORT:

Case counts and vaccine data is taken from GBHU Epidemiological Reports as of
23:59 hrs, January 19, 2022:

All data is preliminary and subject to change. Future situation reports will be updated accordingly.

  • 39 new cases reported in past 24 hours in Grey Bruce:
  • 5136 Confirmed Cases
  • 248 active cases
  • 4855 resolved cases
  • 12 confirmed local active cases hospitalized in Grey Bruce due to COVID-19
    • 3 confirmed cases from Grey Bruce are hospitalized outside of Grey Bruce due to COVID-19 (These numbers are reported to Public Health by Grey-Bruce Hospitals on confirmed COVID-19 cases admitted for treatment attributed to COVID-19 infection)
  • 20 deaths in Grey Bruce
    • +1 death related to a Grey Bruce resident that acquired the infection and was treated outside of Grey Bruce
    • +7 deaths related to Grey Bruce residents that acquired the infection in Grey Bruce however passed away outside of Grey Bruce
  • Local and Provincial data may not align as cases with unconfirmed cause of death are not included above but are included in the Provincial data.
  • 301 cases reported in health care workers; reports health care workers living in Grey Bruce and working both in and outside Grey Bruce

Active Outbreaks

  • 1 Facility(ies) in COVID-19 outbreak. Reported in Hospitals
    • Grey Bruce Health Services – Wiarton Site
  • 12 Facility(ies) in COVID-19 outbreak. Reported in Long-Term Care/Retirement Homes
    – Rockwood Terrace Long Term Care – Durham              – Pinecrest Manor – Lucknow
    – Errinrung Retirement & Nursing Home –Thornbury   – McVean Lodge – Hanover
    – R-Villa Retirement Living – Ripley                                   – Parkview Manor – Chesley
    – Mapleview Long-Term Care Home – Owen Sound       – Lee Manor – Owen Sound
    – Grey Gables – Markdale                                                      – Maple Court Villa – Walkerton
    – Summit Place – Owen Sound                                             – Season’s Owen Sound

Vaccine – for detailed information please visit Website and Dashboard

  • 337,927 Total Doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered in Grey and Bruce
  • 9,161 Doses given within the past week

Future Vaccination Planning: Vaccine Schedule

Actions Taken In the Past 24 Hours:

  • GBHU COVID-19 Team continue with case and contact management, reporting, and responding to COVID-19 related calls. Contact tracing exceeds provincial targets with 100% of all cases contacted within 24 hours
  • GBHU Team continue to ensure essential public health activities not related to COVID-19

Provincial COVID-19 Data – https://covid-19.ontario.ca/data

VACCINE DATA OVERVIEW

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Chief and Council Contact Information:

This information has also been published on our this page of our website: https://www.nawash.ca/chief-council/

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JOB POSTINGS:

CHIPPEWAS OF NAWASH UNCEDED FIRST NATION IS CURRENTLY HIRING THE FOLLOWING POSITIONS:

Community Emergency Response Coordinator

Program:                             Administration
Reports To:                         Senior Administrative Officer
Type of Employment:    Full-time Term Contract (up to 6 months)
Wage:                                  $39.89 – $49.59 per hour
Hours of Work:               40 hours per week

Closing Date:                      Wednesday, February 2, 2022         4:00pm EST

This Employment Opportunity is open to all Applicants.
Current eligible Employees are encouraged to apply for a temporary assignment.

The Community Emergency Response Coordinator is responsible to develop, coordinate and deliver an Emergency Response Plan for Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation encompassing the five phases of emergency management: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery.  In this role, you would establish processes, policies and procedures, manage and coordinate all emergency management training and exercises, write plans, and work with other agencies to develop and implement emergency, security, and disaster management.  You would also be developing, organizing and training the Emergency Response Team with their responsibilities.

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Bus Driver

Program:                             Home and Community Care
Department:                      Health and Wellness
Reports To:                         Home and Community Care Administrator
Type of Employment:     Permanent Part-time
Wage:                                    $22.66 – $28.18 per hour
Hours of Work:                 Up to 20 hours per week

Closing Date:                      Friday, February 4, 2022   4:00pm EST

The Bus Driver primarily transports seniors and those with disabilities to programming in and outside the community as scheduled.  On occasion, transport is required for other Health and Wellness Clients.  In addition to driving, you would find yourself conducting inspections of the bus, performing basic maintenance and assisting passengers on/off the bus.

How to apply for the above positions: Forward cover letter and resume to:  Administration Office, Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, 135 Lakeshore Blvd. Neyaashiinigmiing, Ontario, N0H 2T0.  Identify position applied for on outside of the envelope.  Fax: 519.534.2130  E-mail: employment@nawash.ca  For more information or to obtain a copy of the job description, please visit our website https://www.nawash.ca/employment-opportunities/ or by call the Band Office at 519.534.1689

Band Members and person of aboriginal decent are encouraged to apply.  Preference will be given to Band Members. All applications are appreciated, however, only those selected to interview will be contacted.

Visit our Employment page to learn about these  opportunities and much more:  https://www.nawash.ca/employment-opportunities/

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REMINDERS

Family Pandemic Planning Guide

Social Services at Nawash has designed a Family Emergency Health Guide to help prepare families during the current wave of this pandemic.

The intention of this guide is to have every household think about their individual pandemic plans.  By filling out this form, you are creating a plan that can help lessen the stress and impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on your household. The answers will also assist emergency services should they be called to your home.

If you haven’t already done so, please take 5-10 minutes to fill out the Family Pandemic Planning Guide through SurveyMonkey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/FamilyPandemicPlanningGuide

Please note, we have also printed off this guide and distributed it to each household last Friday, Jan. 14th across Neyaashiinigming. If you prefer – please fill out the hard copy you received in your mailbox on Jan 14, 2022 and:

1. Drop the plan off into the drop box outside Social Services especially if you do not have phone, or internet in the home.
OR
2. Post on your home fridge so if emergency services are called they can easily refer to this plan.

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THE HEALTH CENTRE

The Health Centre continues to be committed to helping protect the health and safety of individuals living in Neyaashiinigming. We encourage you to please call the main number should you have questions or if you require any help at 519-534-0373. This phone line remains open Monday to Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm.
If you need something or are having difficulties reaching someone on the main line, please contact:
Cynthia Porter, Registered Nurse & Health Manager – cell: (519) 374-7861
SpringDawn Cook-Ackiwenzie, RPN, Community Health Nurse – cell: (519) 378-6028

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REMINDER: RAPID COVID-19 TEST KITS

Recently we communicated that the Health Centre in Neyaashiinigming has received Rapid COVID-19 Test Kits in response to the highly transmissible COVID-19 variant, Omicron, being present in our community.

We continue to ask that if you are a resident living in Neyaashiinigmiing displaying symptoms of COVID-19, or suspect you may have it, please call the Health Centre at 519-534-0373. A medical professional will conduct a COVID-19 assessment over the phone and depending on the outcome will deliver a Rapid COVID-19 Testing Kit to your home.

Just a reminder that these rapid tests are only available to individuals living in Neyaashiinigmiing.

THE MOST COMMON SYMPTOMS OF COVID-19 INCLUDE:

  • Fever (a temperature of 37.8 degrees Celsius or higher) and/or chills
  • Cough, including a barking cough or croup (continuous, more than usual, making a whistling noise when breathing)
  • Shortness of breath (out of breath, unable to breathe deeply)
  • Decrease or loss of taste or smell
  • Nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea
  • Muscle aches, joint pain and/or extreme tiredness
  • Headache
  • Congestion or runny nose

More information can be found here: https://www.publichealthgreybruce.on.ca/About-Us/News-Releases/ArticleID/971/Updated-Eligibility-for-PCR-Testing-and-Case-and-Contact-Management-Guidance-in-Ontario

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