Northwest Territories COVID-19 crisis rages on as Canada sees curve plateau

The Northwest Territories has the highest rate of active COVID-19 cases in the country right now, and the majority of their cases to date began to appear in mid-August.

COVID-19’s fourth wave appears to be flattening in much of Canada, which is a “reason for optimism,” says the country’s top doctor Theresa Tam.

However, that’s not the case in the Northwest Territories.

“The statistics speak for themselves … we are unfortunately leading the country in per capita cases of COVID,” said Dr. AnneMarie Pegg, territorial medical director for the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority.

The Northwest Territories currently has the highest rate of active COVID-19 cases in the country with 926 per 100,000 residents as of Thursday. Alberta, which has been in the national spotlight for weeks, is second highest with 416 cases per 100,000 residents. Saskatchewan is next with 387 cases per 100,000.

While much of the country has been fixated on the pandemic in Wild Rose Country and neighbouring Saskatchewan, their northern cousin has been seeing case counts and hospitalizations rise since mid-August.

The territory, which has a population of roughly 45,000 people, reported 51 new cases on Thursday to bring the total number of cases seen since mid-August to 1,296. Since the beginning of the pandemic last March, the region has logged 1,411 cases in total.

To date, six people with the virus have died. A total of 47 people have been hospitalized since the pandemic began, with 43 linked to the current outbreak.

“In the under-immunized regions and in the under-immunized pockets of Yellowknife, we’ve experienced a rapid and vicious spread of this Delta variant,” said Dr. Kami Kandola, chief public health officer for the Northwest Territories.