N.W.T. reports 6 new COVID-19 cases, issues exposure notice for Dettah school

The N.W.T. reported six newCOVID-19 cases Wednesday, and issued a public exposure notice for the Kaw Tay Whee School in Dettah.

The noticesayseveryone who was at the school on Dec. 13 or 14, regardless of their vaccination status, must isolate and contact their local public health centre for testing.

There were 11 confirmed cases in totalacross the territory as of Wednesday.

The government said there were six cases in the Yellowknife area, four more than it reported on Tuesday.

It also said there were three cases in the Beaufort Delta region,two more than on Tuesday.

There remained one case in Hay River and one in the Dehcho region.

The territory said nine of the known cases are N.W.T. residents, while two are non-residents.

Leisure travel

The N.W.T. also announced it will hold a news conference Thursday afternoon to make an announcement about leisure travel.

The territory's chief public health officer, Dr. Kami Kandola, who will be part of the news conference, said in a news release Tuesday that COVID-19 risk in the territory has "shifted from community spread to risk associated with COVID-19 importation from travel," citing the increasing spread of the omicron variant.

Health officials are asking N.W.T. residents returning from out-of-territory travel to avoid high-risk activities and large gatherings, limit contacts outside their household and wear a mask around others for 72 hours after they return.

Earlier on Wednesday, the federal government advised Canadians to avoid non-essential travel outside the country as the omicron variant spreads across the world.