It is apparent that there are a lot of residents are still not following the social distancing guidelines set out by both the Provincial and Federal Government.

It is critical that social distancing be followed for the safety of the community.

The elderly, young children, people with weak immune systems and pregnant women are at high risk when it comes to COVID-19.

There should not be anyone in your home who does not live there.

No big family meals, No birthday parties, No gatherings including drinking with friends, No visitors whatsoever.

People are required to stay at least 2 meters or 6 feet apart.

If you are going out on the land social distancing still needs to be practiced.

You should not be spending time in cabins with people other than those from your household.

Wash your hands regularly for at least 20 seconds.

Avoid touching your face, Stay home if you’re sick.

If you need to pick up groceries do so on your own, do not bring children.

It is so important to follow these guidelines to make sure Nain stays as healthy as we possibly can, you can report those who fail to comply with the guidelines at www.gov.nl.ca/covid-19.

The Government of Canada’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Plan includes $305 million for a distinctions-based Indigenous Community Support Fund, which includes $45 million to address immediate needs for products and services in Inuit communities. Last week, members of the ITK Board of Directors unanimously agreed to direct this funding directly to regional organizations from the Government of Canada as follows:

• $5,850,000 to Inuvialuit Regional Corporation
• $22,545,000 to Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated
• $11,250,000 to Makivik Corporation
• $5,355,000 to Nunatsiavut Government

Each regional organization is developing its own schedule of investments, which includes funding for community harvests, support for elders, measures to provide daily water and sewer deliveries, funding for food banks and community distribution of cleaning supplies, among other areas.

The funds provided to each land claim region will be used to support their respective beneficiaries throughout Canada, including outside their land claims regions. An additional $15 million has been allocated by the federal government to support Inuit living away from their communities. This money can be accessed through proposals directly to the Government of Canada.

The funding allocated to Inuit regional organizations is in addition to $500 million allocated to provinces and territories for critical health care system needs preparedness and mitigation efforts; and access by provinces and territories to the National Emergency Strategic Stockpile for medical equipment and supplies, pharmaceuticals and social service supplies, such as beds and blankets.

4 new cases have been announced yesterday by the province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Janice Fitzergerald.

There are 152 cases of COVID-19 in Newfoundland and Labrador.

This includes 143 cases in Eastern Health, 3 in Central Health, 1 in Western Health, and 5 in Labrador-Grenfell Health.

2,575 people have been tested.

Of those individuals who have been tested, 2,423 have been confirmed negative.

2575 people have been tested in the province;
11 cases have been hospitalized;
2 cases have been admitted to the ICU;
7 people are considered recovered;
1 person in total has passed away from COVID-19;
120 are related to Caul’s funeral home.

The press conference is ongoing and we will keep you updated.

The Nain Community Freezer will be taking the following measures to ensure residents have access to traditional wild food during the COVID-19 pandemic:

The Community Freezer is closed to the public at this time.

We will be starting a delivery system this week. If you would like to receive meat from the Community Freezer:

1) Please call 922-2380 on Monday or Tuesday morning (8:30-12:00). Staff will take your name and address to have meat delivered to your house on Thursday’s (weather permitting, Friday as a backup day).

2) Staff will drop off meat on your doorstep during the day and we ask that someone be home to receive it.

If there are harvesters that would like to hunt for the Community Freezer please call 922-2380 on Monday or Tuesday morning or contact Research Center staff (Liz Pijogge or Carla Pamak) to arrange a time to drop off meat.

The health and well-being of the community is our top priority and we will do our best to make sure community members have access to wild food. We would like to thank you for your patience during this time.

Sobeys has confirmed that an employee at one of its stores in St. John’s has tested positive for COVID-19.

The person was working in the pharmacy of the supermarket at 470 Topsail Road, the one off Hamlyn Road.

The last day the employee worked was March 26th.

Public Health has recommended self-isolation for select Pharmacy employees.

They have done a deep cleaning and sanitization of the store.

Newfoundland and Labrador has 13 new positive cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said the new cases are all within the Eastern Health region.

The total number of cases for the province is now at 148.

139 are in Eastern Health
3 are in Central Health
1 is in Western Health
5 are in Labrador Grenfell Health

55 percent are females
45 percent are males

9 people are in hospital
2 are in ICU
1 death in Eastern Health
7 people have recovered

After consulting with and receiving consensus from members of the Nunatsiavut Assembly, First Minister Tyler Edmunds announced today that the election for President of Nunatsiavut, scheduled for May 5, 2020, has been postponed until October 6, 2020.

“It is important that the election for President be held and that it is properly conducted in accordance with the spirit, intent and requirements of the Labrador Inuit Constitution and the Nunatsiavut Elections Act,” notes the First Minister. “In light of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the inability to access appropriate polling areas, uncertainties respecting timely mail delivery for mail-in ballots, and also the imposition of requirements on public gatherings and physical distancing have resulted in the reality that it is not possible to hold the election in the immediate future. Therefore, there is no choice but to postpone the election to a time when it is hoped the public health situation has improved.”

The Presidential Election Order, 2020, registered with the Clerk of the Nunatsiavut Assembly on March 20, announcing the May 5 election, has been rescinded, and any nomination papers that may have been filed with the Nunatsiavut Electoral Officer are deemed void and of no effect.

Nominations for the October 6 election will close at 12 noon (Atlantic Standard Time) on Tuesday, September 1, 2020.

The opening of the nomination period will be announced in due course. Any inquiries regarding the election should be directed to Nunatsiavut Elections Officer, Nannette Blake.

She can be reached at (709) 896-5683, or by email at nannette.blake@nunatsiavut.com.

The Nunatsiavut Government today announced a number of initiatives aimed at assisting Beneficiaries of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement deal with impacts associated with the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.

The initiatives include providing support to food banks and community freezers (including those operated by the Sivunivut Inuit Community Corporation in North West River and the NunaKatiget Inuit Community Corporation in Happy Valley-Goose Bay/Mud Lake), and cleaning supplies and activity and games packages for children and families.

Funding is also being set aside for mental health initiatives, harvesting and home-heating programs.

Click here to hear President Lampe tell you more on these initiatives.

In an effort to control the spread of COVID-19, the Nunatsiavut Government is asking individuals to self-isolate for at least 14 days before travelling from Happy Valley-Goose Bay to any of the five Labrador Inuit communities.

Effective immediately, individuals whose travel costs are covered by the Nunatsiavut Government, including students and staff, will be required to self-isolate in Happy Valley-Goose Bay for 14 days before entering the Labrador Inuit Settlement Area. Arrangements will be made to ensure accommodations are provided to students and staff that are required to self-isolate.

Newfoundland and Labrador has had its first death due to COVID-19.

The patient — a retired man in the Eastern Health region — died Sunday, about three days after being hospitalized.

More details on the spread of COVID-19 are expected to be revealed this afternoon as Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, Newfoundland and Labrador’s chief medical officer of health, Premier Dwight Ball and Health Minister John Haggie address the public at 2:00 pm.

The briefings have become a daily occurrence as the provincial government, like others across the country, updates the total number of COVID-19 cases and any other developments related to it.

This past weekend, for example, saw two significant developments.

The first instances of what’s called community transmission were confirmed.

On Saturday, Fitzgerald said the cases were in the Central Health region and the Labrador-Grenfell Health region. Community transmission relates to cases where public health staff cannot connect the infection to another proven case.

Fiztgerald, who said this development was expected, and stressed staying indoors to limit the spread of the disease.

By Sunday, the number of people with COVID-19 who needed to be hospitalized increased to seven, with two of those people in intensive care.

The total number of cases in the province now sits at 135.

Some 2,107 tests for COVID-19 have now been completed. Four people in the province had recovered from the virus as of Sunday.