NWT Health officials announced the possible return to normal, by ending its COVID-19 public health emergency this spring.
Opening NWT borders to leisure travellers will soon be a possibility.
This is all pending the territory’s COVID influx of cases over this time.
“This state that we’re in is as dynamic as it has been over the last two years. And we are entering a transition phase which we’re currently preparing for,” says Julie Green, minister of Health and Social Services.
Public health officials expect more details later this week.
The territory currently sits at 952 active cases and 15 deaths.
NWT Students go back to in-person learning, again
In a press conference on Wednesday, NWT Health officials also said they were “confident that children in most communities can return to in-person learning safely.”
Officials are confident their COVID measures will lower transmission of the virus, by doing daily symptoms checks, classroom bubbling, masking, and enhanced cleaning to keep staff and students safe.
Education authorities also recognize the challenges that come with remote learning.
“We also know that remote learning can be challenging for families and students, and staff, and that it’s not a model that has been conducive to the best possible learning for all of our children. So, all of those factors certainly come into play when we consider pivoting back to an in-person learning environment,” says Shannon Barnett-Aikman, assistant deputy Minister, Education, Culture and Employment.
Ultimately, public health officials echo that the benefits on students outweigh the potential harms of Covid-19.
In addition, the GNWT has developed a new set of COVID tools and resources to help NWT youth and parents talk about COVID.
The newest video called “Kid Talk” shows a variety of NWT children talking about why the vaccine is important to them.
In addition to an online comic book called the “Arctic Vaccinator “, “which helps children learn more about how the vaccine works and why it helps the community, through a Northern-based adventure,” reads a press release.
The comic is also coupled with a COVID-based colouring sheet.
While the NWT has 11 official languages, these resources are only available in English and French.
Correction: CKLB regrets the error and acknowledges that some of the resources are in French.
