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The Navajo Nation in the US is being ravaged by Covid-19 with over 1000 confirmed cases. According to statistics, they are being hit 9 times harder than other states in the region, notably, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico.

Chris Jocks who is originally from Kahnawake, is a teacher at Northern Arizona University and lives in Flagstaff. He says it is extremely difficult to manage the outbreak because of the landscape of the Dene people and the sheer size of the territory which is 27 000 square miles. “To travel the length of Navajo nation it would be similar to going from Kahnawake down to Albany from North to South. Going from east to West it would like going from Albany to Buffalo. The Navajo nation is roughly the same size at the traditional Haudenosaunee territory,” Jocks said. His wife, Robyn Jackson is Dene. She works at a Navajo Environment Organization. She says that following health protocols is not an easy solution for her people. “It’s a very rural area. There really isn’t much infrastructure. About 35 percent of the population do not have electricity. Another 40 percent without running water. So some of the health precautions that have been recommended for people during this pandemic is all the more challenging on the reservation,” Jackson said.

She and Jocks have been shopping for food and other supplies and taking them to her family, friends and community members more than three hours away by car.

“The measures we are implementing are to avoid everyone getting sick at once and the medical system collapsing,” said Lisa Westaway, the Executive Director of the Kateri Memorial Hospital Center (KMHC). “We urge you to stay in Kahnawake. To shop locally. We urge you to stick to the measures.”

There were six tests conducted at the testing site in Kahnawake on Monday. The total is now 173 since the site opened adjacent to the KMHC more than three weeks ago. “This is a really low number. I hope it’s because we don’t have symptoms in the community. But I’m not sure of that,” Westaway said.

If you experience any of the symptoms for Covid-19 you should self isolate. That means you must stay in a room and not leave it for 14 days and that you have your own bathroom. You need to do this so that you don’t transfer the virus to someone else around you.

The Task Force also focused on what it means to stay home as much as possible in order to limit the potential spread of the coronavirus. “Only go out for essential needs. It’s all about planning. It means we don’t go out once a day. We only go out once a week or every 2 weeks,” Westaway said. “And if you’re over 70 its important that someone goes out and takes care of your needs for you. You need to stay home.”

Commissioner of Public Safety Lloyd Phillips says that Kahnawake has been doing a very good job of following the measures that have been put in place. “We are really taking care of our community like we never have done before,” Phillips said.

“There is light at the end of the tunnel. I want to be optomistic. But we also want to be realistic. Even though we see the light we want to keep up those measures. Because if we let off then we could see that spike very quickly,” he said.

877 people have now died in the province of Quebec from Covid-19. That’s up 70 from the day before. Lloyd Phillips, Kahnawake’s Commissioner of Public Safety says they are still on track to reach the peak in the province around now. “The peak is not just one day and then it starts to drop off. Once you hit that peak you’ll maintain that level for a period of time before you start seeing those numbers drop off. The only time you know for sure that you’ve reached that peak, unfortunately, is after you’ve passed it,” Phillips said.

Despite that fact that nearly 100 people are dying each day, the good news on the projections is that the hospitals have enough ventilators and beds for those who become seriously ill, if the current course is maintained.

Phillips says the expectation is that the numbers will stabilize within the next week. Things in Kahnawake still look promising as the community adheres to the strict measures. “We are doing everything we can to possibly keep those numbers at zero,” Phillips said. “We are monitoring what happens out there and are seeing what can be done in the next couple of weeks. We made a commitment to the community that some of the measures will be reviewed in a two week period. We’ll take a good look at all the measures that are in place and see, do we maintain the course? Do we make modifications and how do we look at the next phase of this pandemic?”

About 200 elderly patients in Kahnawake are now receiving homecare visits from nurses, according to the director of the Kateri Memorial Hospital Center (KMHC). 

In a briefing on Saturday, KMHC director Lisa Westaway said nurses are conducting pre-screening for patients over the phone and providing services including blood tests at home.

“What we’re trying to do is decrease the number of visits to the hospital by people who are over 70,” she said.

With the increased number of home visits, Westaway said nurses have been ‘extra precautious’ to prevent transmission, including wearing a mask and changing their clothing upon returning to the hospital from a home visit. 

Westaway said patients and their families have a role to play too, urging them to be transparent with nurses about visitors in the home.

“If you’re having many visitors in your home, it’s important to let our nurses know that when they call before they come for a visit, “ she said. “Of course, if you’re over 70 you should not be having visitors in your home, you should only have those people who actually live with you.” 

As the expected pandemic peak approaches over the next few days, public health and safety officials in Kahnawake are maintaining the course for distancing measures. 

In a daily briefing on Friday, public safety commissioner, Lloyd Philips, acknowledged the impact of weeks of distancing measures on the community. 

“As much as we’re battling the virus, we’re also battling a psychological battle,” he said. ”That feeling that people are feeling of being alone…that has an impact on you and we understand that.”

“Once we reach that peak, we’ll see where things will go,” said Philips.

Businesses and services deemed essential in the community will remain the same, despite comments from Quebec’s premier earlier in the week about expanding the list of essential services into the construction field.

“Just because the premier is doing something, doesn’t mean that we’re going to follow suit,” said Philips. “Regardless of what the province may say, we’re going to make the decisions for Kahnawake and in the best interests of our community.”

Unlike longterm care facilities in the rest of the province, there have been no reported cases of COVID-19 at the KMHC, Elder’s Lodge or ILC in the community, and Philips said measures must remain in place to keep things that way.

There was a serious house fire Thursday night in Kahnawake. According to the Kahnawake Peacekeepers the call came in at 10:14 pm for the home which was on the Old Chateauguay Road (OCR) near the boundary. According to the Kahnawake Fire Brigade (KFB), the homeowner was able to get out safely and there were no injuries.

KFB Chief David Scott said it was a difficult fire to control because of the wind and the construction of the roof. He says 31 firefighters needed more than an hour to get the blaze under control. He says the fire appears to have started at the front porch light. “That’s the way the burn pattern looks and it looks that’s where the fire started. It looks to be electrical in nature. It’s not suspicious,” Scott said. “The house is beyond repair. It’s not going to be able to be fixed. Luckily the homeowner has insurance.” While most of the belongings are gone or ruined, every living thing was saved. “We were able to find her cat in the bedroom hiding under the bed. And the cat was okay,” Scott said.

The Kateri Memorial Hospital Center is beginning to cross-train some of the employees who have seen their workload diminish because of the slowdown in their particular departments. They will now be trained to work in in-patient care at the KMHC. This will help to mitigate the loss of some employees who had to leave as the Quebec directive now limits them to working in just one healthcare facility.

KMHC Executive Director Lisa Westaway says the projections still show the peak of positive cases in Quebec hitting the province this week, perhaps as early as Saturday. “There has been a significant increase in the amount of deaths in Quebec, they have almost doubled in the last three days,” she said.

Nine people were tested at the Kahnawake site on Thursday, after just three tests on Wednesday.

Arnold Lazare of the Covid-19 Task Force focused on balance as part of his briefing. “With the Quebec Government loosening of some of the items, it has caused a lot of confusion in the community,” he said.

“New construction is not allowed. The outside pool companies are not allowed in the community because the restrictions are still in place. I have been in touch with all the pool companies and I informed them that the regulations have not changed and if their employees come in then they would be subject to the penalties.”

On the good news front, Lazare said the food supply remains very stable and more importantly there have been no Covid-19 cases in Kahnawake where anyone has required hospitalization, nor have there been any deaths. “It tells us that the directives are working,” Lazare said.

The Kahnawake Covid-19 Task Force has decided that it will be status quo for the  measures that have already been taken in Kahnawake.

“We feel that at this point in time, regardless of the comments of Premier Legault. At this point in time the directive that construction is for emergency repairs only, will be maintained,” Commissioner of Public Safety Lloyd Phillips said.

“The bottom line is that Kahnawake is for Kahnawake residents only and essential people. We want to protect our community as best as we possibly can.”

So far just over $900 000 has been paid out to Kahnawake residents and businesses as part of the Emergency Relief Fund, according to Mohawk Council of Kahnawake Chief Gina Deer.

Deer says 304 payments were sent out in the first round of payouts last week, and a second round of payments to 279 community members will go out on Thursday in the amount of $390 000.

Deer says 41 business applications have been processed and approved and payouts of $82 278 have been made so far.

Those monies are to get the community through the crisis. Planning is beginning on how to emerge from it.

“We will begin working with Tewatohnhi’saktha and the local businesses to start planning for the eventuality for when things will start returning back to normal. We don’t want to just throw a switch on and then have to turn it off again,” Phillips said.

Chief Peacekeeper Dwayne Zacharie says his force is “extremely pleased with the cooperation we are getting from the majority of the community,” he said.

He says that some families in the community did not comply over the Easter weekend. “People under your own roof, that’s okay. People from other places not under your roof, that’s a no no,” Zacharie said.

The Peacekeepers have handed out 60 infractions for people contravening the signs and edict that Kahnawake is off limits to non residents. The fine is $1541. “No one from Kahnawake has received a fine yet. Probably that is coming soon,” Zacharie said.

As part of Quebec’s directives medical professionals are no longer allowed to work at more than one location. That means the Kateri Memorial Hospital Center will have to readjust and balance their staffing according to Executive Director Lisa Westaway. That will affect the LPNs, RNs and PABs (Orderlies).

“We will be losing some of our staff because of the directives,” Westaway said. “We will be noticing the impact especially concerning our orderlies. This is okay. This is a process happening across Quebec. Other staff will be adding extra time as they leave their other locations and stay at the KMHC.”

Arnold Lazare of the Covid-19 Task Force said their team is seeking balance now. Balance between what is coming from Quebec officials and the reality of life in Kahnawake.

“First we are hearing that everything is cancelled until the end of the August,” Lazare said. “But on the next hand we are hearing that they are going to reopen the schools and restart business. Balance is what we will work on.”

“We will be assessing that. What are the best interests of Kahnawake. The safety and security of people is paramount,” Commissioner of Public Safety Lloyd Phillips said.

They will be meeting as a Task Force tomorrow (Wednesday) and making those decisions on what is best for Kahnawake.  

Lazare says Kahnawake is well positioned. “There is sufficient food, the community is doing very well. The directives from the task force are keeping the community safe,” he said.

Lazare says that the Task Force is focused on the numbers of low hospital rates, low intubation rates, and low death rates in the province. “Those are the numbers we need to worry about. We are not going to lift the regulations in a heartbeat,” he said. “As of now the directives are still being kept in place.” Thse numbers remain at zero in those categories for Kahnawake.

“We really ask for people to be patient. We need people to be patient. We will get through this. Nia:wen Kanawakero’non for keeping the community safe,” Lazare said.

10 more people were tested today bringing the number to 147 community members who have been tested at the Kahnawake site since it opened. That is still a low number considering the size of the population of the community, according to Lisa Westaway, the Executive Director Kateri Memorial Hospital Center (KMHC). “By not testing everyone who has the symptoms it is very difficult for us to extrapolate what is really happening in the community. It is not really a big enough sample size to allow us to make appropriate decisions,” Westaway said.

She is encouraging those who have any of the symptoms to call the KMHC for a test at 450-638-3930 Ext. 2296 or Ext. 2275 and go in for a test.

“It is not shameful to have Covid-19. This is a virus,” Westaway said. “It allows us to contain the virus, which we seem to have been able to do.”

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake voted on an MCK Executive Directive to extend the mandate of the Kahnawake Covid-19 Task Force for the next 30 days. It is extended based on the Kahnawake Emergency Preparedness Law.

Another MCK Executive Directive approved a budget of $500 000 for the Task Force to spend as they see fit for the community. The money came from the Emergency Measures Reserve which was established after the Ice Storm.

For the foreseeable future the Kahnawake only signs will be kept in place.

“Kahnawake is for residents only, and we have to see that through until this is over,” Phillips said.

Dr. Annick Gauthier will be taking questions and answering them on Friday’s Task Force briefing on Kahnawake 911 on Facebook live. You can send your questions to: Questions@MCK.ca

As part of the new directives from Quebec and long term care residences, there will not be any transfer of Covid-19 confirmed patients to the Kateri Memorial Hospital Center (KMHC). “We have created a Covid-19 positive ward at the KMHC, but we have not used that, we have no positive cases,” said Lisa Westaway, the Executive Director of the KMHC.  

Any suspected cases at the Elders Lodge or Independent Living Center (ILC) will immediately become hot zones – meaning they will be quarantined in their room and all safety precautions will be taken.  Infection control and prevention is being stepped up at all three locations. Training sessions are increasing with employees at the Elders Lodge and ILC. They are also being supervised and monitored on every shift that the protocols and measures are being properly followed. They are also making sure that the employees are respecting physical distancing between themselves. Staff health is also being monitored more closely and more often throughout the day. They are now required to fill out a questionnaire on their health on each shift as they arrive at work. They are also reducing the number of staff that is in contact with one resident. This does not mean a reduction of staff, it means they will be reorganized so fewer different people are in touch with the patients.

Westaway said that they are monitoring the physical and mental health of the patients and are now writing that down in each chart. Video calls have begun for many of the residents to their loved ones. Westaway said that all of the patients will soon be connected via IPads to their loved ones for video or Facetime calls.

Westaway knows that they are fortunate in Kahnawake that most of those who work at the KMHC, Elders Lodge and ILC, live nearby. “80% of our staff are from Kahnawake and they have a vested interest in caring for our elders,” Westaway said.

“If there is any time that measures have to be adhered to, now is the time,” Commissioner of Public Safety Lloyd Phillips said.

The Kahnawake Peacekeepers were called to several family gatherings over the Easter weekend to break up the groups. Phillips said it’s important that people keep the gatherings to those who live under the same roof.