$61M coming to help Manitoba First Nations fight COVID-19: Indigenous services minister

Indigenous communities in Manitoba will get an immediate boost in funding to help battle COVID-19 both on- and off-reserve after an "alarming rise" in COVID-19 cases in the province.

Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said $61.4 million in additional funding will flow to the province.

"In light of the alarming rise in COVID-19 cases in Manitoba, Indigenous Services Canada, in partnership with Manitoba First Nations, is immediately providing $61.4 million in additional surge capacity funding to fight the virus in a number of key areas," Miller said in a series of tweets Monday.

As of Monday, Manitoba First Nations had nearly 963 active cases of COVID-19, both on and off-reserve, with 50 people in hospital, 11 in intensive care and 11 deaths recorded, according to the  Manitoba First Nations COVID-19 Rapid Response Team.

The on-reserve test positivity was 15 per cent — higher than the provincial average as of Tuesday, which was 10.6 per cent.

"I'm very pleased, of course it's never enough but in light of the circumstance and the gravity of the issue it's well received," said Grand Chief Arlen Dumas of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.

"It's all testament to the fact that our federal partners are listening to the acumen and expertise of our people on the ground," Dumas said.

A large chunk of the money Miller announced — $38 million — will go toward helping communities with their pandemic plan, something Dumas said would be up to individual communities to decide how it should be spent.

"There will be resources made available for every community to exercise their plans, their emergency response plans," said Dumas.

"Some [communities] have COVID so they're going to have resources to help them try and deal with that, some communities don't, they're going to shore up their resources to make sure they can prevent that," he said.

Another $3 million will be targeted for personal care homes to hire additional staff and for greater infection prevention, and $8 million will help pay for on-reserve security, food and supplies. 

Dumas said communities most affected would get more immediate help, while others would get funds for preventative measures.

"Some of the funding is ear-marked for the isolation facilities that are needed to be brought into some of the communities as proactive measures, so it will be a combination of things," he said.

"Wherever the need is the greatest that's where resourcing will have to go."

Miller also said Indigenous Services will provide additional help with contact tracing, mobile medical infrastructure, supplies, and medical staff. The department will also work with National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg and provincial health authorities to increase testing capacity and response time.

The federal government will also work with the First Nations response team to identify organizations that provide services to off-reserve members, especially in Winnipeg, Brandon and Thompson.