Life in lockdown: 2 families share stories from Bearskin Lake First Nation in Ontario

A ball flies across the living room floor of the home, past the wood stove and under a couple of hockey sticksbefore coming to a stop at the base of the couch.

That's one goal for dadDominique Meekis.

His partner,Terrilyn Wemigwans, passes the ballto three-year-old Callie, who takes a whack at it. Whenthe youngstermisses, teetering off balance and tumblingto the ground, the whole family bursts out laughing.

Indoor makeshift hockey games, dance parties and games with balloons are just some of the ways the Meekis-Wemigwans family hastried to stay busy during the devastating COVID-19 outbreak in Bearskin Lake that'sin its third week in the First Nation in northwestern Ontario.

More than 220 people have tested positive for the virus since Dec. 28, with even more forced to isolate in the remote First Nation of roughly 400 people that's about600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.

On Wednesday, Bearskin LakeChief Lefty Kamenawatamin said in a statement the outbreak hasled to a mental-health crisis.

"We try to keep our minds busy," Wemigwans told CBC News in a Skype interview. "But it takes a toll on us at nighttime, when you think of it the most.

"It's hard, especially when you see others that are not doing so well, and you just want them to get better."

The first few days of the outbreak were among the darkest for the young family. On Dec. 27, Callie came down with a feverand had achy bones. Shortly after, the three-year-oldtested positive for COVID-19.

"I was so scared," Wemigwans said.

The family has already been hit hard by the virus. Both of Meekis's parents Clarence Meekis and Alice Mckoop-Meekis died from complications of COVID-19 on the same day last March.

Every time there is a lockdown, Wemigwans said their "hearts hurt," as they relive the day they found out both parentstested positive for COVID-19.

After Callie was found to have the virus, the parents started wearing masks and washing their hands. They cleaned the house multiple times daily,and kept Callie's fever down by giving her Tylenol regularly and keeping her hydrated.

They also had to rely on help from a handful of front-line staff and volunteers to haul water to their home, withtwo long-term boil-water advisories affecting Bearskin Lake, and to deliver chopped wood.

WATCH | Terrilyn Wemigwans talks about life in lockdown:

Terrilyn Wemigwans talks about life in lockdown in Bearskin Lake First Nation, Ont.

3 years ago

Duration 0:40

Terrilyn Wemigwans explains the mental burnout of lockdown, and how her family is staying positive through the community's COVID-19 outbreak.

With beds that freeze to the walls in the winter, poor insulation and a few holes in the house, Wemigwans said they go through a truckload of wood every two weeks to keep it heated.

By Day 3 of quarantine, Callie's symptoms started to ease, and two rounds of testing confirmedneither parentwas infected.

Tuesday marked a big moment for the Wemigwans-Meekis family, when a nurse called to say their mandatory quarantine had officially ended.

"We've beaten COVID in my house, and that means a lot, even if we're still stuck in lockdown," Wemigwans said.

'I wished it was me'

Seequan Brown, a single mom of five in Bearskin Lake, isn't quite there.

Brown saidthe familywon't be considered resolved and out of quarantine until Saturday.

Early in the outbreak, Brown and her two eldest daughters went to get tested. When she heard the results, Brown remembers crying. They were both positive. She was negative.

"I felt mad, like, I wished it was me instead of them."

Brown was forced to isolate the two sick children in one house, but the hours of additional cleaning and extra precautions taken couldn't stop the virus from spreading. A few days later, her two youngest also started showing symptoms, and then shetested positive a week later.

"Some days I would think I don't know how much longer I can do this I was just so tired," Brown said.

Area communities pitch in

Brown saidthe support of surrounding First Nations helped them get through the outbreak, with people sending in food, sanitation supplies and chopped wood. When deliveries would come to the house, Brown said, her kids would draw pictures and wave thank you signs in the window.

"It meant so much. There were times when I would cry [of joy] from all the things they've done to help. And the government never came, or never did anything. It was just our people helping us."

Wemigwans also said she hadn't see any help from members of the military since Canadian Rangers arrived in the community for relief efforts.

In a media statement on Wednesday, Bearskin Lake Chief Lefty Kamenawatamin called the military's support "minimal," and said only five Rangers were on the ground.

Two Rangersare from the First Nationand were already working on the community's front line for weeks. Three Rangers from outside the community are expected to be on the ground until Jan. 23.

Indigenous Services Canada said it has also provided $1.1 million to help bringvolunteers and staff into the community, as well as for other essential items like food and medicine.

As COVID-19 cases hopefully begin to resolve over the next few days, Kamenawatamin said the focus will be on"the mental-health crisis this situation has created and work towards the positive healing of my community."