The health authority that represents northern First Nations communities is worried its frontline workers will not be equipped to deal with COVID-19.
The Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority (NITHA) said it has received only a partial fill of one of its February orders for personal protective equipment (PPE).
NITHA has made a 72-hour surge request to Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health for 41,000 procedural and N95 masks and face shields; 1,300 boxes of nitrile gloves; 8,000 surgical gowns; 30,000 hand sanitizers; and 5,000 swab kits. “Based on our last assessment of inventory, 40 per cent of our health sites do not have the necessary PPE to support an outbreak.