The top doctor for Indigenous Services Canada says he's cautiously optimistic the Omicron-driven wave of the pandemic may be flattening across First Nations.
Dr. Tom Wong, the department's chief public health officer, says for this to happen nationally, communities need to maintain their health measures.
As of last week the department reported nearly 85 per cent of people 12 and older living on First Nations have received both their doses of vaccine to protect against COVID-19.
Wong says there are communities in every region with lower-than-anticipated vaccine uptake, and so far only 20 per cent of adults on reserve have been immunized with a third booster dose.
The department says there are currently roughly 5,000 active cases on First Nations.
Wong says now is not the time for leaders to relax health rules brought in to blunt the spread of COVID-19 because the Omicron variant is highly contagious.
"There is light at the end of the tunnel -- but not now," he said during a briefing Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2022.
This Monday, Sept. 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (NDTR), a federal statutory holiday and day of remembrance for the Indigenous children who never came home from Canadian residential schools, as well as those who survived them.
British Columbia saw a rare unanimous vote in its legislature in October 2019, when members passed a law adopting the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, setting out standards including free, prior and informed consent for actions affecting them.
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Republicans on Sunday sought to distance themselves from Donald Trump's latest insults of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris during a rambling weekend rally in Wisconsin in which he called her 'mentally disabled.'
The U.S. southeast grappled with rising death tolls, a lack of vital supplies and widespread loss of homes and properties with the devastating toll of Hurricane Helene.
Two and a half years after losing her best friend and first love to suicide, Brooke Ford shared her story of grief and resilience at the CMHA Windsor-Essex Suicide Awareness Walk.
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Canadian innovators and technical leaders gathered in Ottawa Thursday to demonstrate the latest cutting-edge technology.
SpaceX launched a rescue mission for the two stuck astronauts at the International Space Station on Saturday, sending up a downsized crew to bring them home but not until next year.
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When Annie Korver sits down with a new corporate or small business client, she encourages them to focus first on the 'truth' part of Truth and Reconciliation.
The U.S. Department of Transportation said Friday it had fined Air Canada US$250,000 for operating flights in 2022 and 2023 in prohibited Iraqi airspace.
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South Korea's Si Woo Kim missed a birdie putt on No. 18 and lost his match to Keegan Bradley as the United States clinched another win over the International team at the Presidents Cup.
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A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.
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The BSI aims to elevate Black academic excellence, promoting scholarship, mentorship, and cultural knowledge.
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A mother in a community where the cost of living is one of the highest in the country says grocery prices are 'inhumane' and retailers are putting profits ahead of people’s basic human right to food.
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Newfoundland and Labrador sponsored a minor football team in England, now they’re about to play one of the biggest clubs in European soccer.
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