COVID-19 Dashboard Changes to Take Effect April 4, 2022

News Type: 
Past COVID-19 Advisories

Yellowknife, March 29, 2022 – The Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO) is announcing changes to how COVID-19 will be reported. Starting Monday (April 4, 2022) the frequency in which the COVID-19 dashboard is updated will change to the following:

  • Vaccination coverage and doses will be updated monthly
  • Regional case counts will be updated weekly
  • Wastewater surveillance will be updated weekly
  • Community/regional level COVID-19 surveillance (using a traffic light system, see below) will be updated weekly

The dashboard will be updated on Mondays for weekly updates and the first Monday of every month for monthly updates.

Due to the significant decrease expected in testing and test reporting after the removal of all Public Heath Orders, it is important to recognize that case counts reported will no longer be an exact representation of COVID-19 data. Due to the small populations of many NWT communities, it will no longer be possible to detail individual case counts for many communities due to privacy considerations.

Traffic light system

It is anticipated that clinical testing that does not reveal individual cases will be sufficient to render categories that can be used for evaluating risk. Regional level data will now be presented using colour-coded categories to determine associated risk levels.

CATEGORY

RISK

Green

  • No locally acquired cases (or 10 or less cases in Yellowknife)

  • No wastewater detection, or a signal explained by travel-related cases

Yellow

  • <10 locally acquired cases (or 10 – 50 cases in Yellowknife)

  • Unexpected wastewater detection

Red

  • ≥10 locally acquired cases (or ≥ 50 cases in Yellowknife)

  • Multiple unexpected wastewater detections

Grey

  • Inadequate testing information

  • No wastewater sampled

The indicators used to evaluate risk category have been determined by the Health and Social Service’s Population Health unit. While the colour-coded categories will be used to guide school-based public health measures within school settings, the categories will also apply to individuals and organizations who choose to conduct further risk assessments associated with travel and activity.

Tools:

Travel Risk Assessment

Activity Risk Assessment

Community Risk Assessment

Attribution

All commentary is attributable to Dr. Kami Kandola, Chief Public Health Officer for the Northwest Territories.

Media Contact
Covid_comms@gov.nt.ca
Department of Health and Social Services
Government of the Northwest Territories