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The Manitoba First Nations COVID-19 Pandemic Response Coordination Team reported Friday there were 838 active COVID-19 cases among First Nations people _ 20 per cent of all active cases in the province.
Of those, 442 are on reserves.
Federal Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller warned at the start of October that the second wave of COVID-19 would hit Indigenous communities harder. At that time, there were 123 active cases on reserves across the country.
As of Thursday, there were 542. More than 80 per cent of those cases were in Manitoba.
Last week in Manitoba, there were 42 First Nations people in hospital with COVID-19 _ 26 per cent of provincial hospitalizations. Nine of them were in intensive care. They ranged in age from 19 to 82.

Ontario reported another record high in daily COVID-19 cases on Sunday, with 1,328 new infections in the previous 24 hours.
That’s well above the record-breaking tally reported Saturday, when the province announced 1,132 new cases.
The province also reported 13 new deaths associated with the virus and said hospitalizations decreased by 10 over the past day.
Health Minister Christine Elliott said on Twitter that the latest figures included 434 new cases in Toronto, 385 in Peel, 105 in York Region, 71 in Ottawa, 68 in Hamilton and 56 in Durham.
Nearly 37,600 tests were completed.

Quebec is investing $15 million into the province’s health-care system to increase cultural security among First Nations and Inuit communities.
The concept of cultural security refers to a way of operating that ensures that health care is provided with respect for the cultural identity of the patient.
Health Minister Christian Dube says the investment spread out over five years will be used to familiarize hospital staff with the concept.
The announcement comes following the death of Joyce Echaquan, a 37-year-old Atikamekw woman and mother of seven who captured on video the insults she was subjected to by staff as she lay dying in a Joliette hospital bed in late September.
The treatment caught on video sparked outrage among the population.
“We are going to concentrate in hospitals where there are Indigenous populations,” Dube told a news conference in Montreal, adding he wants the Joliette hospital to be the first to implement the training.
The money will also be used to hire liaison officers as well as Indigenous employees who will serve as guides for patients navigating the health-care network.

Higher Vitamin D levels during pregnancy may lead to greater childhood IQ scores. This from scientists at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute who say that a mother’s vitamin d supply passed to the baby in utero helps to regulate processes including brain development. The study suggests that vitamin D deficiency may be higher among pregnant women of color as the melanin pigment which blocks UV rays also reduces vitamin D production in the skin. Researchers say the study is good grounds for healthcare providers to ensure pregnant women of color are getting additional vitamin D in their diet.