Suzanne Sylvestre’s grandfather waved at her over FaceTime from his long-term care home in La Loche, Sask. She blew him a kiss and he caught it and held it to his heart.
Joseph Pierre Sylvestre’s care home was already in lockdown on Easter Sunday; that last time they spoke. Four days later on April 16, he tested positive for the novel coronavirus and was immediately moved to a North Battleford hospital.
Ten days later, the 83-year-old died from COVID-19 complications. Joseph Pierre Sylvestre was the first casualty of the novel coronavirus in the far north of the province — now dealing with an outbreak that has been traced back to an oil sands camp in northern Alberta. “COVID-19 is serious and we have to bring the word out there to our