THIS WEEK: Flattening the curve, feeling the gap. COVID-19, the virus that first popped up in Wuhan, China, is now officially a global pandemic. And even though the vast majority of people who get COVID-19 will ultimately suffer either mild or even no symptoms, it’s the most vulnerable among us that we need to worry about and look out for. So far in Canada, that’s largely meant promoting hand hygiene and social isolation. The goal: to stop a huge spike in cases to keep the healthcare system from being overwhelmed. But as governments work to keep Canadians’ demands on the system on a long, low curve, all too many Indigenous people could find they’re trapped in a gap. Multiple public health gaps, in fact, which, taken together, could compound the challenges facing prevention, treatment and containment of the virus among First Nations, Inuit and Métis populations.

Joining host/producer Rick Harp to discuss this gap, including what some are doing to mitigate it, are two returning guests: Dr. Lisa Richardson, clinician-educator with the University of Toronto's division of general internal medicine, and Dr. Jason Pennington, a staff surgeon at Scarborough General Hospital and an assistant professor at the University of Toronto. Together, they serve as strategic leads in Indigenous Health with the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine.

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