COVID-19 cases go up in Behchokǫ and Hay River/KFN, down in Yellowknife area

The number of COVID-19 cases went up by 11 in Behchokǫ and 11 in Hay River and K'atl'odeeche First Nation on Friday, but they went down in Yellowknife, Dettah and Ndilǫ.

The N.W.T.'s Office of the Chief Public Health Officer (OCPHO) reported there are now 111 cases across Yellowknife, Dettah and Ndilǫ, 14 less than there were Thursday.

In Behchokǫ, the case count rose to 77 from 66 yesterday, and in Hay River and K'atl'odeeche First Nation, the count now stands at 50, compared to 39 yesterday.

Overall, the number of cases across the territory went up to 265 from 256 yesterday.

On Thursday, Dr. Kami Kandola, the territory's chief public health officer, announced she was extending the containment order for Behchokǫ that was scheduled to be lifted Friday. She said the situation was not being resolved in the community as quickly as she had expected.

On Tuesday, Kandola issued public health orders for both Hay River and K'atl'odeeche First Nation. Once those orders expire, she said, the communities will fall under the new public health order that came into effect Friday, which relaxed gathering limits across most of the territory. 

There was no reported change in the number of cases in many communities including 14 in Inuvik, six in Fort Simpson, three in Łutsel Kʼe and one each in Fort Good Hope, Fort Smith and Whatì. 

There is one new reported case in Wekweètì.

And for the first time in weeks, the OCPHO did not report a new public exposure notice anywhere in the territory.