Summary
Published April 2020.
Inuit communities are at high risk for respiratory infections and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) because they are currently fighting another respiratory infection epidemic, tuberculosis. Inuit today are nearly 300 times more likely to get tuberculosis than any Canadian born, non-indigenous person.
COVID-19 has been reported in Inuit communities in Nunavik, Canada; however, no case of COVID-19 disease has been reported in Nunavut, Canada.
But there is no room for complacency. In Clyde River, Nunavut, the community is already implementing emergency readiness plans for the control of COVID-19.
