After weeks of zero cases, Clearwater River Dene Nation dealing with second COVID-19 spike

The chief of the Clearwater River Dene Nation says testing is ramping up in the small northern community after over a dozen new COVID-19 cases were detected over the weekend.

After an extended lockdown brought the first spike of coronavirus cases to its knees in April and May, the Dene nation just north of La Loche sat at zero cases for weeks.

But now the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health is connecting 15 cases in the community to a funeral and wake that were held for a non-COVID death on June 10 and 11. Two of the cases were announced last week, while 13 more were confirmed on Monday.

Chief Teddy Clark told 650 CKOM that it’s difficult to pinpoint where exactly the cases were transmitted.

“To just say it came from the funeral or wake service would not be fair to the family,” he said in an interview Monday afternoon.

“This funeral and this wake service was well planned out. Just unfortunately not all the rules were followed.”

Clark said the services were originally intended to be for close family members of the deceased – but several more people, including elders, ended up attending.

He added that after weeks of no cases in the community, some complacency had set in.

“We’ve always cautioned everybody that regardless of being zero we have to continue following all the rules,” he said.

“When you start getting too comfortable with things and you feel things are okay again, people do let their guards down,”

All 15 of the people who have confirmed cases are in isolation now. The Dene nation is also returning to mobile, door-to-door testing to try and isolate anymore spread in the community of just over 1,000 people.

Clark said the last time this type of testing happened, few cases were turned up. He hopes that happens again.