B.C. data shows First Nations keeping COVID-19 cases low, 87 cases, 4 deaths

First Nations in British Columbia have been able to limit COVID-19 infection rates in their communities by strictly following health guidelines and using lessons learned from the historic spread of disease that decimated Indigenous populations.

Dr. Shannon McDonald of the First Nations Health Authority, says since Jan. 1, there have been 87 cases of the virus among Indigenous people in B.C. and four deaths, a rate below the provincial average.

She says there are currently three active COVID-19 cases among Indigenous Peoples in B.C.

McDonald says the data is based on COVID-19 testing results of more than 5,500 Indigenous people through a program unique in Canada that allows the sharing of federal and provincial data with the health authority.

She credits the success to the many sacrifices made by First Nations communities to follow health restrictions, restrict travel and the willingness to cancel cultural and family gatherings integral to Indigenous culture.

McDonald says much of the vigilance comes from the advice of elders recalling how previous diseases like tuberculosis spread uncontrolled through Indigenous communities.