NWT to get vaccine in early 2021; territory sees first cases of COVID-19 in weeks

YELLOWKNIFE – The Northwest Territories says five new cases of COVID-19 have been found in Yellowknife, the first in the territory in two weeks.

The government earlier this week asked anyone isolating in Yellowknife since Nov. 30 to get tested after traces of the novel coronavirus were detected in the city’s wastewater.

Chief public health officer, Dr. Kami Kandola, says locating five cases in 24 hours is a positive development and helps to make sure the risk of community transmission is contained.

The N.W.T. has also announced it will receive the Moderna vaccine in the first three months of next year.

It says it expects to receive 51,000 doses, enough to vaccinate 75 per cent of the territory’s roughly 45,000 residents.

Specialized freezers are to be sent to Yellowknife and Inuvik to store the vaccine, which must be kept very cold, and portable freezers will be used to distribute it in small communities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 11, 2020.