One new COVID-19 case has been reported in Yellowknife. The individual was a contact of an existing case in the city.
There were also two COVID-19 cases on Canadian North Flight 239, which flew from Iqaluit to Edmonton, making a stop in Yellowknife on April 23. Seven people, identified as contacts, got off the flight in Yellowknife and have been contacted by public health and told to self-isolate.
Some of the seven passengers who were staying in the city for less than 24 hours were told to self-isolate and have returned to their home communities.
NWT’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Kami Kandola says there is no public exposure risk connected to the flight.
Currently, there have been 90 contacts identified connected to the cases in the past few days in Yellowknife. Since those cases were close together geographically and within a similar timespan, they have all been grouped together under the same cluster, says Kandola.
“With the most recent person diagnosed with COVID-19, all contacts have been notified and there are not any identified public exposures,” she said. “The Office of the Chief Public Health Officer will advise the public if the situation changes.”
The COVID-19 case connected to international travel has had no contacts identified, Kandola says.
This brings the number of active COVID-19 cases in the NWT to eight. Six are in Yellowknife and two in Fort Smith.
