The NWT government confirmed Covid-19 restrictions will ease in Behchokǫ̀, Hay River, and the Kátł’odeeche First Nation this weekend as case numbers continue to fall.
Numbers are falling so rapidly that the territory achieved a figure of minus-one new cases on Friday. The NWT government said it had recorded one new case but two other cases were deleted, causing the territory’s overall number of cases since mid-August to fall from 1,779 to 1,778.
Cases are normally deleted because they are found to be false positives, though there was no confirmation of this on Friday. The territorial government did not acknowledge that two cases had been deleted from its data, stating on Friday that the total had “increased to 1,778” despite issuing a news release on Thursday that said the total “remained at 1,779.”
One hospitalization has also disappeared from the data. The territory now reports 60 hospitalizations in the fall outbreak to date, down from 61 on Thursday. The number of deaths and intensive care admissions remained the same.
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Yellowknife now has 24 active cases, Behchokǫ̀ nine, Hay River seven, and Inuvik seven. There are a total of 47 active cases in the territory, down from 64 on Thursday.
“The public health orders currently in effect in Hay River and Kátł’odeeche First Nation are going to be revoked at 11:59pm on November 7, 2021,” the territorial government stated on Friday, confirming an intention it had first announced earlier in the week.
“The public health order currently in place for Behchokǫ̀ will not be renewed and will lapse at 11:59pm on November 8, 2021.”
Hay River has been under strict gathering restrictions since mid-October, while the Kátł’odeeche First Nation has been in containment, which closes non-essential businesses.
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Behchokǫ̀ has been both in containment and subject to travel restrictions that barred access to the community unless travellers were either fully vaccinated or in possession of a negative Covid-19 test.
The return of in-school learning depends on the community in which students live.
“Remote learning will continue for JK-12 students in Behchokǫ̀ for the week of November 8-12, 2021. Students will return to in-person learning on November 15, 2021,” the territorial government said.
Students in Hay River and the Kátł’odeeche First Nation will, however, return to in-person learning on November 8.
