170 COVID-19 cases in N.W.T. Thursday, new exposure notices for Dln, Inuvik, Yellowknife

The number of cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in the Northwest Territories. On Thursday health authorities reported170 active cases, 169 of which are N.W.T. residents.

According to theN.W.T. COVID-19 dashboard,149of the active cases are residents inthe Sahtu region.

Public health officials in the Northwest Territories also issued several new COVID-19 exposure notices Thursday afternoon.

In Dln four high-exposure locations where identified:

• Dlnhandgamesevent at the community culture centre on Aug.14. Anyone who was there must isolate for 10 days and arrange testing.
• Spiritual gathering community culture event Aug.13-15.Anyone who was there must isolate for 10 days and arrange testing.
• Community feast (fish camp) lunchAug.13-15.Anyone who was there must isolate for 10 days and arrange testing.
• Community breakfasts fromAug. 13-15. Anyone at these breakfasts must isolate for 10 days and arrange for testing.

In Yellowknife anyone at the Black Knight Pub on Aug. 10 between 10 p.m. and midnight, Aug.13 from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., or anytime all night on Aug. 14, andwho is unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated, is asked to isolate for 10 days from their exposure and get a COVID-19 test.

Anyone fully vaccinated who was there during any of those times is asked to wear a mask in public and to monitor for symptoms and immediately isolate if symptoms develop and arrange for testing.

The same stands for anyone who was at Harley's HardrockSaloon on Aug. 13 from 12:30 a.m. until close.

In Inuvik, anyone at The Mad Trapperon Aug. 15 from 6 p.m. to close and who is partially or completely unvaccinated is asked to isolate for 10 days from exposure and get tested. The fully vaccinated should monitor for symptoms and wear a mask in public places.

The same for anyone at the Inuviklegion on Aug. 14 from 3:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m.

The office of the chief public health officer is now reporting 78 cases in Fort Good Hope, 55 in Colville Lake, seven cases in Dln, one in Inuvik and 19cases in Yellowknife.

A press release late Thursday notes one additional case related toan out-of-territory resident unrelated to the current outbreak.

The Sahtu region has been at the centre of a COVID-19 outbreak identified on Sunday. The outbreak has been tied to a handgames tournament in Fort Good Hope, a community of about 500 with a relatively low vaccination rate.

Sixty-three per cent of adults in Fort Good Hope are fully vaccinated, compared to 74per cent across the territory. As a region, the Sahtu stands at 68per cent fully vaccinated among adults.

Health officials and others have repeatedly implored residents across the N.W.T. to get fully vaccinated, saying it's the best defence against COVID-19 and its variants.