Most of Yellowknife’s COVID-19 cases are in children and youth: public health officer

YELLOWKNIFE — A health official in the Northwest Territories says a recent outbreak of COVID-19 cases in Yellowknife is mostly affecting children and youth.

There are 47 active cases in the northern city and all are linked to an outbreak declared at N.J. Macpherson School last week.

Dr. Kami Kandola, who is the territory’s chief public health officer, says 90 per cent of those cases are among children and youth while the rest are in adult household contacts.

Kandola says there are also more than 1,000 contacts associated with the school outbreak. 

On Thursday, the territory started offering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to children ages 12 to 17 in Yellowknife.

Kandola says there is no evidence of community transmission in Yellowknife.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2021

The Canadian Press