There are now more than 500 cases of COVID-19 in the territory.
On Thursday evening, public health announced an additional 170 cases in the previous 24 hours — the single largest jump since the beginning of the pandemic.
“There are COVID-19 infections in all regions of the NWT impacting more than half of our communities,” reads a public health advisory.
However, despite the growing number of cases, there have been no additional hospitalizations, ICU admissions or deaths.
Earlier in the week, Dr. Kami Kandola, the chief public health officer, explained these are “severe health outcomes” her office is monitoring to determine when the public health emergency will end.
Community transmission and additional measures
The advisory identifies several communities that are either experiencing community transmission or are likely to have it soon.
These include:
- Aklavik
- Behchoko
- Fort Providence
- Hay River
- Whati
- Ndilo
- Dettah
- Yellowknife
All cases are assumed to be the omicron variant.
“Omicron is very infectious and will likely continue to spread,” reads the advisory. But public health has previously said the majority of people with the variant will be able to recover at home.
But to prevent overloading the health care system, Kandola has made additional recommendations like having employers allow employees to work from home when possible, schools offer remote learning instead of in class, and avoiding non-essential travel to the communities listed above.
