Squamish Nation confirms 19 on-reserve COVID-19 cases

Nineteen members of the Squamish Nation have contracted COVID-19, according to the First Nation council's co-chair, Kristen Rivers, who says she expects the number of cases to go up, as other members have shown symptoms.

Rivers, who also has the name Tiyltelut,said she first heard about the new cluster of coronavirus cases in her community on Wednesday, and by Sunday, the number of confirmed cases had reached 19.

She said the outbreak is all connected to a single case, according to the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA), and that contact tracing has been effective.

Rivers says the cluster of cases has brought out the best in her community, and patients are self-isolating at home with support from other members including food, medicine and cleaning supplies.

"I see our community uniting around one another and that's a beautiful thing. When it comes down to it, we're all in this together," she said. "We're doing everything we can to make sure that our members don't need to leave the home."

'Pandemics aren't new to our people'

However, Rivers said the new cases, which she believes affect every one of the nation's ninereserves, also bring to mind a traumatic history of disease.

"I mean, pandemics aren't new to our people," she said, adding that there are things that put Squamish Nation members at higher risk than other communities.

"Our people lived together in long houses, previously, and that has trickled into today," said Rivers.

She said many households are made up of multiple generations.

"An infection in one household looks very different on reserve than it does off reserve," she said.

Rivers also expressed concern that many of the nation's more than 3,600 members, 60 per cent of whom live on reserve, are in high-risk groups. She said40 per cent, according to a Squamish Nation survey,are elderly, or have underlying health conditions.

The FNHA said on Monday that since the pandemic began,169 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed among First Nations in B.C.

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