Lockdown orders in N.W.T. to lift this weekend as COVID-19 cases start to decline

YELLOWKNIFE – Two communities in the Northwest Territories under lockdown orders since mid-August will see those orders lifted late Saturday as active cases of COVID-19 start to decline across the territory.

Colville Lake and Fort Good Hope have faced some of the worst of the COVID-19 outbreak, which started after a hand games tournament became a superspreader event.

There are four active cases in Colville Lake, where half of the community’s 150 people got COVID-19.

Norman Wells, which has a population of about 800 people, is now under a 10-day lockdown after cases climbed in the community last week.

Chief public health officer, Dr. Kami Kandola, says there are also 43 cases of COVID-19 in Yellowknife and community transmission is ongoing in the city.

There are 117 active cases of COVID-19 across the territory, down from 262 cases last Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 1, 2021.