A sixth person has died from Covid-19 in the Northwest Territories, the chief public health officer said on Tuesday. The death is the territory’s fourth from the disease since Friday.
Dr Kami Kandola begged unvaccinated residents to “please, please consider getting the vaccination to protect yourself from severe health outcomes” associated with Covid-19 as 49 more cases in the territory were announced.
No identifying information related to the person who passed away, including their age, gender, community, or vaccination status, has been published. The territorial government does not identify people who pass away from Covid-19. Identities are only reported if the families of those involved elect to come forward.
Behchokǫ̀ saw the steepest rise in cases on Tuesday, reporting 27 new infections and 75 active cases overall. In Yellowknife there were 22 new infections but the number of active cases held steady at 165, a drop of one since Monday. Yellowknife has now reported 417 cases since the current outbreak began.
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Hay River moved from 10 to eight active cases with no new infections. Numbers in all other communities remained unchanged. (Though some residents in Fort Smith reported word of at least one positive case on Tuesday, the NWT government’s evening update did not reflect that. The update only accounts for cases recorded before 9am on Tuesday, meaning any cases reported after that time may not be documented until Wednesday evening.)
In all, the NWT had 261 active Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, up 15 on Monday’s figures of 246.
There was one new hospitalization and there were no new intensive care admissions.
More: Follow the data for your community with our NWT Covid-19 tracker
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Meanwhile, a series of exposure advisories were issued for Yellowknife. They include lunchtime at the Black Knight pub on Thursday, September 23, between 3:30pm and 5pm at the Kilt and Castle pub on the same day, and at Cai’s Kitchen from 7:15pm to 8:15pm later that evening. Anyone affected should monitor for symptoms and isolate if any develop.
Friday, September 24’s WestJet flight 3258 from Edmonton to Yellowknife also carries an exposure warning for rows 16 to 20. If you were in those rows and are fully vaccinated, self-monitor. If you were in those rows and aren’t fully vaccinated, isolate for 10 days and book a Covid-19 test.
The NWT government also extended its public health emergency on Tuesday, renewing emergency powers to combat the pandemic until at least October 12.
Justin Trudeau said additional support for the NWT had been approved and the Canadian Red Cross would continue to provide “the resources that communities need to keep people safe, including support for contact tracing, Covid-19 testing, acute care, and more.”
