N.W.T. extends public health emergency to Aug. 18

Law360 Canada (August 6, 2020, 2:46 PM EDT) -- The government of the Northwest Territories has extended its territory-wide public health emergency to Aug. 18.

Implemented on the advice of chief public health officer Dr. Kami Kandola, the extension under the Northwest Territories Public Health Act is necessary to “respond decisively to needs for personal protective equipment, isolation space, enforcement and travel checkpoints essential to the territory’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to an Aug. 5 government news release.

“The risk to the N.W.T. remains high as there has been a recent increase in cases in southern Canada,” said the release. “With upwards of 700 new self-isolation plans filed a week, we have a significant amount of people joining us to live, work, or study.”

The release notes that reintroduction of COVID-19 into the Northwest Territories is most likely to occur as a result of travel from areas with local transmission. Among other measures, the public health emergency requires everyone entering the N.W.T. to self-isolate for 14 days in Yellowknife, Inuvik, Hay River or Fort Smith, regardless of how long their trip outside the territory was.

Travel within the territory is restricted upon arrival with limited exceptions and is only permitted with an exemption under the public health orders.

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