COVID-19 situation in northern Saskatchewan expected to get worse before curve is flattened – APTN News

May 5, 2020

With dozens of confirmed cases, COVID-19 has hit the Dene village of La Loche in northwestern Saskatchewan harder than any other Indigenous community in the country.

What the province is calling a “localized outbreak” has spread to nearby First Nations and Metis communities, while more resources have been mobilized to curb the spread.

Community leaders expect numbers to rise as testing and contact tracing ramps up.

“There’s a lot of anxiety, a lot of fear,” said Mayor Robert St. Pierre. “I expect our numbers to go up a little more. Hopefully we peak out pretty quick here and we start recovering more than we have new cases.”

Saskatchewan reported 34 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, the province’s largest single day uptick. Twenty-nine were linked to La Loche, almost 600 kilometres north of Saskatoon by road, and the surrounding area. This includes Beauval, a Metis community dealing with an outbreak connected to the general store, and three nearby communities.

Read More: https://aptnnews.ca/2020/05/05/covid-19-situation-in-northern-saskatchewan-expected-to-get-worse-before-curve-is-flattened/