SASKATOON -- Métis Nation Saskatchewan is stepping up with an emergency response fund for northern communities hit hard by COVID-19.
In a news release MN-S said it is providing $1 million to northern regions of the province to address the need for community monitoring, isolation units and food security to a region hit hard with new cases of COVID-19.
The MN-S said this fund is in addition to the direct support to citizens for childcare and housing the organization has been providing to the Metis communities in the north.
“The challenges in the north call for the immediate response of all levels of government to respond proactively to minimize the spread of the virus before it reaches unmanageable proportions,” MN-S President Glen McCallum said in a news release.
He added the MN-S has now provided more than $20 million towards COVID-19 relief throughout the province.
“Travel restrictions in the north are not enough. For the health and safety of our citizens, the time for discussion logistics has passed, we must act now,” McCallum said in the release.
MN-S is part of the emergency response team and command centre established in Beauval, Sask., helping coordinate a pandemic response for northern communities.
On Friday, Beauval declared an outbreak following the confirmation of a positive COVID-19 test from one of the community’s General Store employees.
According to Beauval Mayor Nick Daigneault, more than two dozen employees from the store have since been tested for the virus.
The store was closed for cleaning and contact-tracing, Daigneault said it may be able to reopen as soon as next week, but in the meantime, many in the community of over 800 and the larger region are without access to a grocery store, he said.
