No more active cases of COVID-19 in NWT

This image is a computer generated representation of COVID-19 virions (SARS-CoV-2) under electron microscope. (Felipe Esquivel Reed/Wikimedia Commons).

The Northwest Territories officially has no more active cases of COVID-19.

The department of health and social services’ virus webpage was last updated on Monday at 9 a.m. and showed all five people have recovered.

In past news conferences, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Kami Kandola explained that a person is considered to have recovered after two negative tests within 24 housrs.

The NWT’s first confirmed case was on March 21, while the fifth was on April 5.

So far, more than 1,500 have been tested.

In her most recent news conference, Dr. Kandola said public health officials are still calling for aggressive testing measures.

They are also expecting two new quick-result technologies to come to the NWT in the next few weeks. Dr. Kandola and other health officials expect these tests to provide near-real-time data on how the virus is affecting communities.

Dr. Kandola has said that while maintaining travel restrictions, other public health orders may be relaxed if health officials have this information at their fingertips.

However, these technologies are still three to five weeks away.

Dr. Kandola has also said that travel restrictions are unlikely to be lifted until the rest of Canada starts seeing a slower rate of reported cases.

About the Author

Francis Tessier-Burns
Francis was a reporter with CKLB from January 2019 to March 2023. In his time with CKLB, he had the immense pleasure and honour of learning about northern Indigenous cultures.