Yellowknife schools closed after COVID-19 outbreak confirmed at elementary school

YELLOWKNIFE — All schools in Yellowknife have been closed after eight cases of COVID-19 were confirmed at an elementary school over the weekend. 

The chief public health officer for the Northwest Territories, Dr. Kami Kandola, says there are also 12 probable cases connected to N.J. Macpherson School.

She says most of those infected are children.

She says health officials are still investigating how COVID-19 entered the school and are determining whether the cases are related to an earlier cluster in the city in April. 

The territory also says it’s working to finalize a deal with British Columbia to get doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine so teens can be vaccinated.

Only the Moderna vaccine is available in the N.W.T., and it is not yet approved for use in people under the age of 18.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3, 2021.

The Canadian Press