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Daily Task Force Update April 24

Written by on 24 April 2020

On today’s daily update from Kahnawake’s Covid-19 Task Force, Kahnawake Fire Brigade paramedic and medical instructor Tanner Phillips spoke about current protocols for the paramedics. While on shift, Phillips said paramedics must stay at work for a full 24 hours and can only leave to respond to calls. Measures put in place include changing uniforms and showering after every shift before going home.

Lloyd Phillips, the Commissioner of Public Safety, gave details on Tewatohnhisaktha’s economic plan for the community. Phillips said the plan is currently being drafted. He said there will be measures “Ensuring there are proper infection control procedures in place…for all businesses.” He also said there will be measures “…to ensure the safety of the employees and customers.”

Lisa Westaway, the Executive Director at the Kateri Memorial Hospital Center, focused on Quebec’s new directive that prevents patient transfers from hospital centers to long term care facilities if they spent longer than 24 hours at a hospital. Westaway said community members who stay at the Elder’s Lodge or have home care can still be transferred if needed. She said, however, that those people will have to follow strict precautions upon returning to the Elder’s Lodge or their homes.

Dr. Annick Gauthier, the Task Force’s Medical Advisor, addressed community concerns on how to take better precautions against the virus. Gauthier also made a point to express her disapproval of the idea of sending children back to school to increase herd immunity against Covid-19. She said, “The herd immunity in the adult population needs to be developed in the adults, not the children…Most children have a very mild and even asymptomatic infection.” She explains that in this case children don’t develop much of a virus, nor an immunity to it. She then concluded, “If you’re not producing the virus, you’re not spreading it to other people…if you’re sending the kids back to school, it’s because you think the kids are the vectors. The data does not support that.”