Non-resident worker in Yellowknife tests positive for Covid-19

A worker who travelled into the NWT has tested positive for Covid-19 in Yellowknife, the territorial government said on Friday.

The individual is isolating appropriately and “doing well,” the territory said in a statement. Contact tracing identified one contact who is also isolating appropriately, the statement added.

“There have been no public exposure risks identified as a result of this positive Covid-19 diagnosis,” Chief Public Health Officer Dr Kami Kandola’s office stated.

“All contacts have been isolated. There is no identified risk to any flights as the individual was outside their infectious period at the time of original travel into the NWT.”

As the case involves a non-resident worker, it does not count toward the NWT’s total, which remains at 15 recorded cases of Covid-19 to date.

Dr Kandola’s office said contacts were limited to one person as the worker had self-isolated when required under rules for essential workers.

“All high-risk essential workers are now being tested when they arrive from outside the NWT to address the inherent risks associated with travel originating from outside the NWT,” Kandola’s office stated, adding essential workers are vital “to keep our territory moving” and can’t simply be excluded.

“This is why public health issues exceptions which allow some workers to go to work during their self-isolation period with stringent requirements to limit the chance of transmission,” the statement continued.

High-risk essential workers to whom those exceptions apply include healthcare staff, dentists, police and corrections officers, and “anyone else working in closed and highly vulnerable settings.”

There were no exposure advisories associated with the case, which is currently the only known active Covid-19 case in the territory.