Southern Alberta’s Blood Tribe confirmed its first COVID-19-related death on Friday, saying one of its elders had lost their fight with the illness.
“Sadly, earlier this week, the tribe reported the loss of one of our elders, related to complications due to COVID-19,” the nation said.
“The emergency management respected the time and space of family and friends in coping with their significant loss.”
In a YouTube video, the Blood Tribe identified the elder as 76-year-old Adrian “Buck” Many Fingers and said its emergency management team extends “condolences to his family and friends.”
“On behalf of the board of directors and the staff at the Blood Tribe Department of Health Inc., we send our condolences and prayers to the family,” said Derrick Fox, CEO of the Blood Tribe Department of Health. “Our elders are our most precious resource and we ask that you respect their homes and their space.
“They are a vulnerable population and could experience complications easily.”
The Blood Tribe saw its first case of the novel coronavirus on April 29. By May 14, the total had risen to seven. Within four days, seven more people had fallen ill with COVID-19.
The tribe didn’t give an update on case numbers on Friday.
The tribe said Friday its emergency management team is continuing its work to keep the outbreak from spreading further.
“We need to ensure our members are following the safety precautions and measures that have been put in place,” director of the emergency management team, Rick Soop, said.
As of Friday, more than 1,490 tests have been administered to residents of the Blood Tribe by the emergency management team.
As part of her Friday update on the novel coronavirus in Alberta, chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw applauded the Blood Tribe as she shared success stories about the First Nations’ response to the virus.
“Staff in this community have implemented measures like establishing a 35-bed clinical isolation facility for community members who fall ill with COVID-19 or for those who were ill and need a place to isolate while awaiting swabbing results,” Hinshaw said.
She also commended the tribe on its delivery of 2,540 food and cleaning packages to its members to ensure they had support they needed.
“Also, the community health and essential services staff in this community are working hard to continue testing, contact tracing and care for those in quarantine and isolation and all Blood Tribe administration programs and departments have shown dedication to the well-being of their people.”
Fox said Friday that the Blood Tribe continues its work to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in his community and said Alberta Health Services and the First Nations Inuit Health Branch have provided an “exceptional response” in their support of the reserve.
–-With files from Global News’ Phil Heidenreich