“It appears we’re coming out of a period of outbreak,” said Dr. Kami Kandola, the NWT’s chief public health officer (CPHO) on Wednesday.
With the continued decrease of active Covid-19 cases — 31 active infections in Yellowknife and 87 across the territory as of Tuesday — things seem to be moving toward a gradual return to the time frame before the recent NWT outbreak.
Yellowknife, Dettah, and Ndilǫ’s temporary restrictions were lifted after Oct. 22
Hay River and K’atl’odeeche First Nation could see an end to their temporary restrictions at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, the CPHO recently announced.
As well, the temporary restrictions for Behchokǫ̀ look to be on track to end Monday.
However, moving away from temporary restrictions means switching to existing territorial gathering orders of 25 people indoors and 50 people outdoors, which are expected to remain in place throughout the winter season, unless exemptions are granted.
“The pandemic is not over,” said Kandola. “As winter approaches, more and more of us will be moved indoors and so the risk increases.”
Despite the easing of restrictions, there was also attention brought to the 11 lives lost during the course of the outbreak.
“We continue to keep these people, and their loved ones, in our heart,” said Kandola.
On top of this, the CPHO reaffirmed the severity of the Delta variant and that the Covid vaccine continues to be a “safe and effective measure.”
Kandola said the vaccination of NWT children ages five to 11 is getting closer as pharmaceutical company Pfizer made a recent submission to Health Canada for approval of vaccine usage on children.
“Health Canada issued a public release at the end of last week saying that they will come back with decision any time between middle of November to end of November,” she said.
Territorial medical director Dr. AnneMarie Pegg said Stanton Territorial Hospital has been rescheduling surgeries as normal — while also working towards in-person appointments — and hopes the situation in Alberta will improve soon for assistance with patients awaiting operations.
“We’re hoping that as they emerge from their situation of difficulty down there, that they’re able to better respond and better get back on track with some of the backlogged surgeries,” said Pegg.
Kandola also addressed some City of Yellowknife councillors opposition to introducing proof of vaccination at municipal facilities.
“I didn’t follow the whole city council dialogue,” Kandola acknowledged. “What I can say is that the proof of vaccination is an option for people to use to increase their capacity.
“We have a territorial gathering order, which is 25 people indoors and 50 outdoors. Then there are some high-risk activities that need to have their own exposure plan submitted.”