First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba
Suite 600-6th Floor- 275 Portage Avenue R3B 2B3 Winnipeg, MB, Canada

**WEEKLY** MB FIRST NATIONS COVID-19 BULLETIN - 20NOV2020 Since the last weekly bulletin shared on November 13th, the MB FN PRCT identified the following information as of 7:00 am Friday, November 20th: 527 New First Nations COVID-19 Cases ... 69 Current hospitalizations (38 males / 31 females) 16 patients are in ICU (11 males / 5 females) 27 Deaths (9 of the 27 this week) 1401 Cases are active 727 Cases are recovered 795 Cases are on reserve 1360 Cases are off-reserve 2155 TOTAL CASES PDF: https://d5d8ad59-8391-4802-9f0a-f5f5d600d7e9.filesusr.com/

A University of Manitoba research project has received a $1.5 million grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to reduce the high rate of early childhood tooth decay among First Nations and Métis children in Manitoba. This new five-year study is led by the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba, the Manitoba Metis Federation and U of M researchers. The purpose of the project is to address the significant oral health gap between First Nations and ...Métis children compared to other Canadian children. We find that tooth decay for children under age six is very prevalent in Canada, said Dr. Robert Schroth, professor of preventive dental science in the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry on Thursday. Some populations are affected at higher rates than others, specifically, populations that have limited access to care. One of the groups impacted by early childhood tooth decay tends to be our Indigenous children. Every year in Manitoba, around three thousand children undergo pediatric dental surgery under general anaesthesia. The high number of surgeries deal with tooth decay, however, it does not address the reason children are developing the cavities in the first place. The U of M is trying to work with their Indigenous partners using community development principles to allow them to come up with strategies and approaches to promote oral health as well as consider certain cultural practices used for teething and to care for children’s teeth. This new project stems from a previous project Schroth had worked with two Métis and two First Nations communities to find various methods to adapt Manitoba’s long-running Healthy Smile Happy Child initiative to make it more culturally relevant. Healthy Smile Happy Child initiative promotes early childhood oral care to parents and caregivers. The ongoing tooth decay project will be conducted in approximately 10 urban and rural First Nations and Métis partner communities. The project’s first objective is to integrate Indigenous teachings into Healthy Smile Happy Child by sharing traditional stories about keeping teeth healthy and discussing traditional ways to feed and comfort infants. U of M’s second objective for the project is to improve access to care by implementing risk assessment of tooth decay by non-dental primary care providers. Non-dental health-care workers will be trained in the risk assessment tool used to evaluate young children’s oral health. The assessment tool will help guide local doctors and nurses to apply fluoride varnish, refer the child to a dentist and make additional recommendations to the parent or caregiver if a child’s risk score for decay is high. A lot of times, our Indigenous children are only presenting to care once they have problems that are too advanced to fix, said Schroth.

**DAILY** MB First Nations COVID-19 Bulletin for November 20, 2020. 82 New Cases 1401 Active Cases 727 Recovered Cases ... 69 Current Hospitalizations 16 ICU Patients 27 Deaths 414 Daily Tests 2058 ON/OFF RESERVE TOTAL CASES MB FN PRCT COVID19 email address: [email protected] PDF BULLETIN: https://d5d8ad59-8391-4802-9f0a-f5f5d600d7e9.filesusr.com/

TODAY @ 5:15 PM: Don't forget to tune into NCI FM today to get your 15 Minute Health Break! Check your local frequency or listen live here: https://www.ncifm.com/listen-live/

438 new cases of #Covid19MB have been identified as of 9:30 a.m. today. These cases are located in the following RHA's: Interlake-Eastern: 22 Northern: 28 Prai...rie Mountain: 27 Southern Health-Santé Sud: 114 Winnipeg: 247 Learn more at https://bit.ly/30JvMYN. COVID-19 Bulletin #259 https://bit.ly/2IYdrRs

TODAY @ NOON: There will be a LIVE Manitoba First Nations COVID-19 Update on the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Facebook page. Some of the topics include: -First Nations Cases and Testing in Manitoba -Support and work with MB First Nations... -Manitoba’s new restrictions that are now in place -AMC’s Patient Advocate Office during COVID-19 First Nations are invited to share audio on Community Radio. You can ask questions during today's update and media are also welcomed to ask questions during this time. Bulletins will be available later today on FNHSSM, AMC and MKO websites. ALSO TODAY @ 5:15 PM 5:30 - Tune in to NCI on your local frequency or on NCI FM. Here are some websites where you can find valuable COVID-19 Info and Resources: https://mkonation.com/updatesoncovid19/ http://scoinc.mb.ca/covid-19/ https://manitobachiefs.com/covid-19-updates-and-information/ https://www.fnhssm.com/covid-19 https://sharedhealthmb.ca/covid19/indigenous-health/ https://www.afn.ca/Home/ https://www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/index.html https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1581964230816/1581964277298

MB’S NEW RESTRICTIONS on Shopping for essential items: Province Tightens Restrictions to Reduce Gatherings and Social Contacts in Residences and Retail Establishments https://bit.ly/2UOoyyF