YELLOWKNIFE MAY 4, 2021 – The situation with the COVID-19 outbreak at NJ Macpherson School is evolving quickly. Everyone in Yellowknife and surrounding areas should continue to review public exposures and follow the directions on the GNWT COVID-19 website: https://www.gov.nt.ca/covid-19/en/services/public-exposure-notifications
At this time, we are continually updating the list of places, times and gatherings where exposures have occurred. Providing this information allows people to isolate and gives us the best opportunity to minimize further transmission.
- If someone has COVID-19, they must stay within their accommodation and cannot leave the accommodation. If there is a medical emergency, call 911 and let the operator know the person has COVID-19.
- If someone is a contact of a person with COVID-19, the contact must stay within their accommodation or their property. For clarity, contacts may go outside for fresh air, etc. as long as they have their own outside space and remain on their property. Treat the situation as if you ARE contagious.
- Only contacts of COVID-19 will be tested routinely when they do not have symptoms.
- If you have symptoms of COVID-19 please call Public Health or your health centre to arrange testing.
- For general enquiries, please call ProtectNWT/811. For medical advice contact Public Health.
Through extensive investigations, including reverse contact tracing, we have determined there is no evidence of community transmission in Yellowknife or surrounding areas at present.
Public Health is working hard to make sure we find all exposure locations and test contacts. With all the work done to date to provide vaccines and expanding vaccine coverage to younger NWT residents, we are hopeful that we can limit the impact of this outbreak.
Attribution
All commentary is attributable to Dr. Kami Kandola, Chief Public Health Officer for the Northwest Territories.