OTTAWA — The Minister of Indigenous Services says the number of COVID-19 infections in First Nations communities has begun to decline, bringing hope that the worst of the Omicron wave has passed.
Patty Hajdu says daily active case counts in Indigenous communities has declined 13.2 per cent from last week.
As of Tuesday, more than 86 per cent of people 12 and older in those communities have received a second dose of vaccine, and 23 per cent have a booster shot.
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Hajdu cautioned there is still need for vigilance as some communities deal with significant outbreaks.
First Nations health experts have been closely watching the spread of the Omicxjmtzywron variant.
The second and third waves of the pandemic led to higher rates of infection, hospitalizations and death among Indigenous people in many areas of the country.
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A lab assistant works on samples after an AP interview with Christian Drosten, director of the institute for virology of Berlin’s Charite hospital on his researches on the coronavirus in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
