COVID-19 cases in Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T., jump to 81

The Northwest Territories reported 50 new cases of COVID-19 since Wednesday, with the majority of them in Tuktoyaktuk.

The community now has 81 cases compared to 37 on Wednesday.

Dr. James Talbot, the N.W.T.'s acting chief public health officer, said in a news conference on Tuesday that he expected the number of cases in Tuktoyaktuk to increase as people got tested, following an outbreak in the community last weekend.

Health officials said at the news conference they expected between 250 and 300 people in the community of about 1,000 people would get tested this week for COVID-19. A10-day containment order was also issued for the community on Tuesday.

Cases in N.W.T. and communities

The jump in cases in Tuktoyaktuk increased the territory's overall case count to 126 Friday, compared to 82 on Wednesday.

In Inuvik, the number of cases climbed from 20 to 23 in the last two days.

In Yellowknife, Dettah and Ndilo, the number of cases dropped by three, to 19, while in Behchoko, there remains one case, as there does at the Ekati diamond mine.

The N.W.T. is also reporting one new case in Fort Smith and issued three public exposure notices, two in Yellowknife and one in Inuvik.