N.J. McPherson elementary school in Yellowknife has been shutdown after an outbreak was declared at the school over the weekend.
One confirmed COVID-19 case has been reported and four probable COVID-19 case connected to that case have been identified, according to Dr. Kami Kandola, NWT’s Chief Public Health Officer. Two of those are presumptive positives, which are waiting to be confirmed.
The school will be closed as of May 3 for 14 days, with lessons moving to online learning. Parents and staff have received emails with instructions, while contact tracing is ongoing to determine how many contacts may have been exposed.
Kandola said in a statement those who have been contacted should isolate for 14 days. Household members who live with an individual who has been contacted should also self-isolate, unless it has been more than two weeks since they received their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
There is also an exposure risk identified at the Quizno’s Restaurant on Old Airport Road on April 29 between 6:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. There is no risk of exposure outside of those time, says Kandola.
Earlier this week, Kandola said plans to update the Emerging Wisely document would be postponed until the COVID-19 case cluster in Yellowknife, which had been identified as cases of the UK COVID-19 variant, had been resolved.
