The Northwest Territories government added three schools to its list of Covid-19 outbreak sites on Monday.
An outbreak has been declared at NJ Macpherson School in Yellowknife as of Friday, February 4; Joseph Burr Tyrrell Elementary School as of Sunday, February 6; and Helen Kalvak Elihakvik School in Ulukhaktok as of Monday, February 7.
The exposure notices state students, teachers and staff in affected classrooms at each school will be provided with a letter outlining testing and isolation requirements. Those in unaffected classrooms are advised to self-monitor and, if they develop symptoms, to immediately isolate and arrange for testing.
The NWT government declares a Covid-19 outbreak at schools when two or more people have developed Covid-19 within a 14-day period.
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There are currently 925 active cases of Covid-19 across the territory, down from the 988 cases reported on Friday evening. Of those cases, 371 are in the Yellowknife region, 239 in the Beaufort Delta, 101 in the Hay River area, 70 in Fort Smith, 62 in the Dehcho, 51 in the Tłı̨chǫ region, and 31 in the Sahtu.
According to the territory’s latest numbers, there have been 296 new infections, 359 resolved cases, and one new hospitalization since Friday. There have been a total of 752 new cases reported in the last seven days.
Health services reduced in Beaufort Delta
The NWT Health and Social Services Authority announced on Monday there will be reductions in services at health centres in several Beaufort Delta communities.
As first reported by CKLB, the Emegak Health Centre in Ulukhaktok will only be providing emergency services from Monday to Friday this week. A letter from the NWT Health and Social Service Authority posted to the hamlet’s Facebook page states the reduction in services is due to staffing capacity.
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The territorial authority said the health centre in Fort McPherson is currently providing emergency services only. The authority said it plans to provide an update on how long services will continue to be reduced.
Residents in Fort McPherson are advised to contact the health centre mobile phone at (867) 337-2586 with any questions or concerns as the centre’s phone system continues to be experiencing issues due to power outages.
Finally, the health centre in Tuktoyaktuk was offering emergency services only on Monday. Regular services are expected to resume on Tuesday.
