Fort Good Hope Chief Tommy Kakfwi says he has requested additional support from the territorial government as his community faces a “staggering” COVID-19 outbreak.
“We are calling out to the departments to provide us with help,” he said.
This includes healthcare staff, something the community and the territory has a shortage of.
Kakfwi says the community is also requesting additional funding to provide food for residents who are isolating.
“We need to have some extra help,” he said, “as a band, we are underfunded.”
Another resource Kakfwi says he’s asking for is policing to enforce the containment order.
“If they want to be our government, let’s see what they can do for us,” he said of the territorial government. “We will see what the minister will provide us with.”
A community on edge
Chief Kakfwi says the COVID outbreak has the community anxious, this is something it hasn’t dealt with during the pandemic.
“We’ve been living in a bubble for quite a while,” he said.
Sherbaz Muhammad, a Fort Good Hope resident echoed this point.
“People have been panicking,” he say.
Muhammad adds it would help to have some of the territory’s medical professionals in the community to keep them updated.
“The lack of expert voices… that is something that has doubled or tripled the panic,” he says.
Muhammad credited Chief Kakfwi who has been on the radio keeping the public informed. Chief Kakfwi has also been providing North Slavey broadcasts to keep the Elders informed.
“I would like the community to know that this pandemic, that we’re going to deal with it together,” Kakfwi said.
As of 4 p.m. Chief Kakfwi said there are now 22 confirmed or probable COVID cases in the community.
