GULL BAY FIRST NATION – Six of 11 Gull Bay First Nation members tested for COVID-19 have been found to have the deadly virus.
In a letter to the community posted on Wednesday night on the band’s official website, Chief Wilfred King said he was saddened to have to notify the community about two more cases, people who had been in contact with Gull Bay’s first case.
That person was evacuated from the community on April 11.
“We now sadly have the unfortunate distinction of the fastest growing COVID-19 case load of any other Ontario First Nation,” King said in the letter, “and as shocking as it may sound, our infection percentage surpasses that of Italy on a per capita basis.”
King said the community made an emergency request for a BlueMed Assessment Facility, an independent and temporary building that can serve as a triage, testing centre and field hospital, if needed.
‘This M.A.S.H unit will be mobilized in the Gull Bay Firs Nation health centre parking lot on the roadside to ensure quick access by nursing staff, while preventing puncture of the negative air compression/ventilation system by debris kicked up when the helicopter arrives/departs during medical evacuations,” King said, adding he's been told it won't be on site until Wednesday.
The chief urged his people to continue taking precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Gull Bay First Nation, located about 200 kilometres north of Thunder Bay off Highway 527. King said it’s critically important for people to understand that a negative test does not mean they are immune to the virus and reminded them of the importance of continued physical distancing measures and good hygiene practices, including frequent hand washing.
King said not everyone listened after the initial case was announced.
“Many members witnesses some who were initially tested continue to mix socially after their swab was taken and before their results were received,” King said.
“The same can be said for some who were specifically directed to self-isolate.”
However, he also blamed the federal government for sending mixed messages during the early days of the pandemic.
"We were told by the federal minister of health there was a really low case of people getting this virus. The next day the World Health Organization called it a world pandemic. So a lot of people were caught off guard. We weren't prepared because we were following the advice of federal officials," King said in an interview on Thursday.
