If NWT residents are on hold with the Covid Secretariat 8-1-1 phone line for longer than five minutes, they should hang up and call again, Kami Kandola, chief public health officer, tweeted on Thursday afternoon.
Technical issues with the Covid Secretariat 8-1-1 phone line were first reported on Wednesday.
“The system is putting some callers on hold when there isn’t a queue,” Kandola explained in a short statement on Twitter. She said “the team is working hard to figure out what’s going on.”
The 8-1-1 service is staffed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to answer questions about Covid-19, determine if an individual should arrange testing, field complaints of individuals not following public health orders and provide information for additional resources.
Callers from outside the NWT can reach the service at 1-833-378-8297.