The gathering restrictions order in Yellowknife, Dettah and Ndilǫ will be extended until 11:59 p.m. on October 17th according to Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Kami Kandola.
Schools in the three communities are required to remain closed to in person learning for the duration of the order.
At a Wednesday press conference, Kandola said she would have to see a consistent drop in active cases in Yellowknife for her to decide to open schools again.
Kandola says there are no plans to change the current orders or adding new measures for Yellowknife, Dettah, and Ndilǫ.
Kandola says the territory has not reached a peak in the current wave of this outbreak.
“Some form of the public health order would remain in effect in the region until COVID-19 activity started to trend downward,” she adds.
Gatherings restrictions have been in place in Yellowknife since September 8th. At the time there were 107 active cases in the territory, now there are almost 250 in Yellowknife alone.
Kandola says the NWT currently has the highest rate of COVID-19 in the country, over seven times higher than the national average.
As for the temporary restrictions order in Whatì that expires at 11:59 p.m. on October 9th, Kandola says it will not be extended.
“The collective efforts of the community, and leadership, to support one another during these challenging times should be celebrated,” she adds.
Kandola says residents that are required to isolate beyond October 9th must still complete their isolation period.
As for Behchokǫ̀, Kandola says it will take a few days to determine how effective the additional measures that were recently put in place are.
