The GNWT says it has upgraded the Protect NWT and 8-1-1 phone number system.
“When we established the COVID Coordinating Secretariat, we promised to improve services for residents and businesses,” Premier Caroline Cochrane said in a news release. “These investments in technology and capacity are a good step towards delivering better pandemic services as we continue to rise to the challenge of COVID-19.”
New call centre technology comes online this week.
“The new call centre technology provides assurance that all calls will be answered and none will be dropped from the system while callers are on hold, allows for better data management, and improves call triage procedures,” the news release read. “Business callers will also be given an option to connect to an operator who can provide them with business-specific responses.
Between 1,000 and 1,500 calls have come into the 811 number per week since August. The GNWT says that some calls have been dropped and residents and businesses have had a “less seamless experience.”
Staff hired since the establishment of the COVID Secretariat and all Protect NWT and 811 employees are being cross-trained to further increase capacity to get information on public health orders to residents and businesses quickly.
The 811 number provides general information for individuals about COVID-19 including providing assistance on symptoms, how to arrange for testing, contacts with local health providers, and community-level information.