Active COVID-19 cases in Tuktoyaktuk drop by more than half Friday

The number of active COVID-19 cases in Tuktoyaktuk dropped to six on Friday, from 17 on Thursday.

The drop meant the number of cases across the territory was reduced by almost half.

The Office of the Chief Public Health Officer (OCPHO) reported 13 cases across the territory Friday compared to 23 Thursday.

In Yellowknife, Dettah and Ndilǫ, there are seven active cases, one more than was reported yesterday.

The containment order currently in place for Tuktoyaktuk, where an outbreak began on Nov. 8, is expiring at the end of the day on Dec. 5. Schools can resumes in-person learning on Dec. 6. 

Since the start of the pandemic, 12 people have died from COVID-19 in the N.W.T., and 61 people have been hospitalized.

Of the people that were hospitalized, 69 per cent were not fully immunized, says the OCPHO.

It adds that of the 61 people hospitalized, 57 were hospitalized since the current Delta variant outbreak.

There have also been 20 people admitted to the ICU in the territory since the start of the pandemic.

Changes coming to N.W.T. COVID-19 website

The N.W.T. government said on Friday it is changing the dashboard on its COVID-19 website.

It said that beginning Dec. 8, the dashboard will include community-level data on the number of active cases, and infections since the start of the pandemic.

"This information being available on the dashboard will help guide residents as they assess the level of risk related to COVID-19 when making decisions about travelling within the N.W.T.," it said in the release.

It said community level data will be updated weekly on Wednesdays.

"On the other days of the week cases will be updated and reported at the regional level," it reads.