The Fond du Lac Denesuline First Nation is in a double crisis.
It is dealing with a massive COVID-19 outbreak, which is affecting 25 percent of its population.
But the water treatment facility is down, awaiting parts and a technician to perform the repairs.
This is forcing residents to rely on hauled water from nearby Lake Athabasca.
“We need clean drinking water, clean consumption of water for daily use for the health and safety of individuals. With COVID numbers rising, you need that water for sure,” said Diane McDonald the COVID-19 Coordinator for the Fond du Lac Denesuline First Nation.
A State of Emergency was declared November 9, after the water treatment facility began to experience mechanical failures and shortly after the Athabasca Health Authority identified the first COVID-19 case in that community.
The priority for the First Nation is getting the water treatment facility back operational. It has been in discussions with Indigenous Services Canada regarding a plan for a full assessment and required parts for repairs.
The Ministry has provided water jugs for homes, which McDonald said this was helping to ease the pressure.
“We’re hoping that this pump arrives this week and it comes up here and the technicians will be coming back to make sure that we the repairs are made for the water treatment plant. That would actually put a lot of pressure off us,” explained McDonald.
The water treatment plant is expected to off for the next week.
The other crisis affecting the community is the rising cases of COVID-19.
Monday’s numbers indicate that 37 active cases, including two new. Yet 207 people have been identified as close contacts.
The virus is affecting 25 percent of 1000 population in the Far North community.
“It doesn’t help us from a health perspective where we have many COVID positive cases that are rising on a daily basis. And with many individuals that are being identified as close contacts to an individual that tested positive,” McDonald said.
“It’s very difficult for the COVID team to have on the ground workers, to assist us in delivering water, whether it’s groceries or medication to those individuals that are in isolation. As the numbers keep creeping up, we’re finding it very hard to find workers to work on the ground with us, because of the outbreak that we have in our community.”
The Fond du Lac Denesuline First Nation Emergency Team is calling for increased public health interventions to help stop the spread of the virus. This includes financial support to help offset the high freight costs of supplies into the community.