(Karachi) Canada is sending its military to help a remote First Nations community handle a COVID-19 outbreak, Al-Jazeera reported. The support is being provided after chief of Shamattawa First Nation requested for help.

As per details, Chief Eric Redhead said Canada’s Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller had confirmed the army’s deployment to Shamattawa.

He said the community of a little more than 1,000 people, located more than 700km north of Winnipeg in Canada’s central province of Manitoba, has reported 144 cases of COVID-19 to date.

The military will build a field hospital and temporary structures to allow COVID-positive residents to isolate safely without infecting others, Redhead said. He added the team will also help the community’s rapid response team conduct contact-tracing and testing.

“This is not the end-all,” Redhead said. “The only way to beat this is for everyone to stay home, don’t allow visitors, limit your contact with others until we beat this.”

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, Canada has witnessed rapid increase in coronavirus cases. The country has reported more than 400,000 cases and more than 12,400 deaths linked to the virus since the start of the pandemic early this year.