'Things got missed': N.W.T. premier apologizes for mother, newborn isolation experience

Premier Caroline Cochrane said if given the chance, she would apologize to a mother and newborn who were isolating in a government-run facility that lacked basic amenities. 

"I would start by saying, 'I'm very, very sorry for the situation that you experienced,'" she told CBC News. "And that's not what you'd expect from our isolation units. In that case, there was an overlap in services and things got missed."

The woman, to whom CBC News granted anonymity, spent several days isolating in a government-run house in Yellowknife that had cigarette ashes on a plate, dirty sheets on the bed, no shower curtain or toilet paper, no internet and no telephone. The only food she received from the territorial government was a breakfast that froze at the doorstep.

Premier Cochrane said upon hearing about the situation, she reached out to staff to remind them of the protocols and made sure isolation facility users had people to contact.

The mother and newborn were moved to the Old Town Log Cabins on Jan. 13, which the family said was a major improvement, and was released from isolation on Jan. 16.

Premier Cochrane said the situation with the Omicron variant caught the territory off guard, and it has been a challenge to establish enough isolation centres that meet the requirements. 

"I don't think we could've done much different," she said, looking back on the government's response to the current outbreak. 

"We realized fast how contagious it was and that made a huge impact on the isolation units we were currently using," she said. 

One woman described her government isolation unit at the Aspen Apartments as a bare room with a single cot. 

Cochrane said she recognizes some of the facilities are not ideal, but she said the territory is doing everything it can to slow the spread of Omicron. 

"There's going to be quiet a few people, in my opinion, that may come up to not ideal isolation units as we move forward in this," she said. "But the big thing for people to remember is that it might not be the best accommodation, but what you're doing when you isolate is you're doing the best for the public." 

Many people isolating said they were surprised to hear they were not allowed to stay at the Chateau Nova and the Explorer Hotel, which were previously used as isolation facilities.

These hotels no longer accommodate people who are COVID-19 positive. They only accept people travelling into the territory, including those who are unvaccinated. Each traveller has to pay their own cost.  

"That's what the original intent for those was," said Conrad Baetz, the director of policy and corporate services with the territory's COVID-19 Secretariat, on Jan. 14.