The Canadian Armed Forces is sending help to Garden Hill First Nation in northern Manitoba to help with an outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
The CAF confirmed tweets by federal Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair and Minister of National Defense Harjit Sajjan that military members would be sent to help contain the outbreak.
Members will begin to be flown in starting Thursday, said CAF spokesperson Daniel Le Bouthillier.
The forces will help with general duty support (cleaning, maintenance), helping run the Emergency Operations Centre in the community, helping set up an isolation area in the community, training staff to run the isolation area, performing wellness checks and providing transportation for government departments, Le Bouthillier said.
Members will also “provide limited assistance with patient management tasks, including triage, secondary assessment, monitoring of patients, testing and treatment of COVID-19 patients,” he said.
Global News has reached out to Garden Hill First Nation for comment, however, Chief Dino Flett has told media there are more than 300 cases in the small first nation.
Garden Hill First Nation is 610 km northeast of Winnipeg.