The Nunatsiavut Government is calling on Beneficiaries of the Labrador Inuit Claims Agreement to remain calm and to continue adhering to all public health protocols following confirmation of a presumptive positive case of COVID-19 in Makkovik today. The case is connected to recent travel from the St. John’s metropolitan area.

All cases of COVID-19 are considered presumptive until confirmed by Public Health officials. The test results are scheduled to be sent to St. John’s today for confirmation.

Labrador-Grenfell Regional Health Authority and the Nunatsiavut Department of Health and Social Development are working closely together to track all contacts, and arrangements are being made to have all residents of Makkovik tested for COVID-19. Details are expected to be announced today.

Meanwhile, all flights to and from the community have been suspended until further notice, with the exception being for medical emergencies only. Residents are also asked to not travel by snowmobile to any other communities under any circumstances, to stay in their homes and to avoid contact with those from outside their households.

“We still have a long way to go before the threat of COVID-19 passes,” says Nunatsiavut President Johannes Lampe. “Even though the vaccine has been administered to residents in Makkovik, people should continue to follow all public health protocols, including practicing good hand hygiene, wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing of at least two meters from those outside your immediate households.”

The Nunatsiavut Department of Health and Social Development will begin the process of implementing an emergency COVID-19 response plan for Makkovik. Similar plans have also been developed for the other Inuit communities, and will be implemented if necessary.

Residents of Makkovik should immediately contract 811 if they exhibit any of the following COVID-19 related symptoms: shortness of breath or difficulty breathing; worsening cough; high fever; chills; fatigue or weakness; headache; stomach pain; diarrhea; or vomiting.

The Nain Moravian Church celebrates its Anniversary tomorrow, Wednesday, February 19th.

This year marks its 250th of the Moravian Church, where it was established in 1771.

Most town businesses are closed for the special day and OKalaKatiget Society is one of those.

OK radio spoke with Hans Rholmann who is from the Religious Studies at Memorial University in St.John’s, the interview was done back in 2015.

Click here to hear Rholmann talk about the Nain Moravian Church Anniversary Celebration and the First Inuk that was baptized.

Due to COVID restrictions, A recorded Special Service for the 250th anniversary of the Nain Moravian Church Establishment will be aired on OKâlaKatiget Radio on Friday, February 19, at 10am this year.

Labrador-Grenfell Health is encouraging all community members in Makkovik to get a COVID-19 test.

Testing will be available today and tomorrow without appointment.

Individuals can get a test even if they have not travelled and do not show COVID-19 symptoms.

Testing will be provided at Labrador-Grenfell Health’s Makkovik Community Clinic beginning at Noon February 18, in collaboration with Nunatsiavut Government Department of Health and Social Development.

Community members will be notified by Nunatsiavut Government through Facebook and phone on when they should arrive.

Community members should contact the clinic if they have concerns about transportation to attend for their test.

Individuals seeking testing are reminded to bring their MCP card and to maintain physical distancing while waiting to get their swab.

There are 44 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Newfoundland and Labrador today.

Forty-two of those cases are in the Eastern Health region, and two are in the Central Health region. The province is also reporting 21 new presumptive positives in the Eastern Health region.

There have been three new recoveries since yesterday’s update. Two in the Eastern Health region, one in Western Health.

There are now 338 active cases in the province. One person is in hospital due to the virus.

Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald clarified how the province reports presumptive positive cases, which are first discovered through antigen or “rapid” testing.

Once presumptive positives are confirmed by the province’s public health laboratory they appear in our confirmed case counts. For example, 10 of today’s positives were once reported as presumptive positives.

Provincial deadline to apply for a Mail-In Ballot for the Provincial elections is 8:00 p.m., Friday, February 19.

And the deadline for a completed voting kit to be received at Elections NL is Friday, March 5, 2021.

Any qualified elector in Newfoundland and Labrador can apply to cast their ballot through the mail.

An application must be completed and identification that proves your name and address must be included.

When the application is processed, Elections NL will mail you a special ballot voting kit, along with instructions.

When you receive the special ballot voting kit and complete the contents, you simply return it to Elections NL in the supplied envelope.

There are telephone numbers that can be used to request for your mail in ballots and they are: 1-709-729-0712, 1-709-729-0789 and Toll-Free 1-877-729-7987.

Labrador-Grenfell Health is advising the public that patients who are expecting a baby may have one partner/support person present during labour and delivery.

The individual may stay with the mother and baby until the time of discharge.

The support person:
· Must pass COVID-19 screening;
· Must wear a mask at all times; and
· Should come prepared with supplies for the duration of their stay.
And If the partner/support person leaves the facility prior to discharge, they will not be permitted to return.

If the support person is a traveler, rotational working or someone on mandatory isolation, please contact the unit to discuss:
· Labrador West Health Centre – (709) 285-8249
· Labrador Health Centre – (709) 897-2210
· Charles S. Curtis Memorial Hospital – (709) 454-3333 ext. 7157

COVID-19 restrictions are in place at all Labrador-Grenfell Health facilities to protect the safety of our patients, residents and staff.

We would like to thank the public for their understanding and cooperation during this time.

For more information about COVID-19 can be found on the province of Newfoundland and Labrador’s website www.gov.nl.ca/covid-19 and on the Labrador-Grenfell Health webpage www.lghealth.ca/covid-19.

Many restrictions have been put in place since the Premier and Dr. Janice Fitzgerald announced Alert Level 5 on February 12th, 2021.

Meghan Hudson is a Public Health nurse with the Department of Health and Social Development in Nain.

Hudson says that some of the restrictions include prohibitions for recreational activities, large gatherings, wakes and more.

Hudson also says that there were new protocols put in place for swab testing and that they will continue to give vaccines to those that did not get the first or second dose.

We will be speaking with Hudson later in the AtjiKangitut Program to find out more about the restrictions that are in place.

Today, (Tuesday, February 16), Newfoundland and Labrador has seven new confirmed cases of COVID-19.

The seven new confirmed cases are as follows:

In the Eastern Health region:
• Two under 20 years of age
• One between 20-39 years of age
• Two between 40-49 years of age
• One between 50-59 years of age
• One over 70 years of age

There are five females and two males.

Contact tracing by Public Health officials is underway. Anyone considered a close contact will be advised to quarantine.

There are 25 new presumptive positive cases in the Eastern Health region. Presumptive cases are treated the same way as confirmed cases. These individuals are self-isolating. Contact tracing is underway. Anyone considered a close contact is being advised to quarantine.

There are 297 active cases of COVID-19.

The regional breakdown of the 297 active cases is as follows:
• Eastern Health-289
• Central Health-4
• Labrador-Grenfell Health-0
• Western Health-4

There have been six new recoveries in the Eastern Health region and two new recoveries in the Western Health region since yesterday. This means 407 people have recovered from the virus.

One person is in the hospital.

To date, 94,944 people have been tested.

Important Notice for JHMS Families:

Even though the school buildings are closed until at least February 26th, learning will still continue virtually. Teachers and students will be connecting online, through Google Classroom. Homeroom teachers will be emailing information about schedules and groupings. It’s important that you check your email.

As we move forward with online learning, remember that school is continuing virtually. Students will need a device to access their lessons and activities. Smartphones, laptops, tablets and desktop computers are all devices that can be used. Families might need to share devices.

Online learning will start on Wednesday, February 17th for Grades 7 to 12. K to 6 will start on Thursday, February 18th.

If you have any questions or concerns please call the school.

The number of health care workers in isolation has topped 500 in the province, but Health Minister John Haggie says other staff are “rising to the challenge” to help fill those gaps.

The breakdown includes 403 in the Eastern Health region, 48 in Central, 36 in the Western region, and 10 in Labrador-Grenfell, for a total of 512.

Haggie says the reduced staff numbers have not had any significant impact on hospital services.