Aklavik under lockdown as 13 COVID cases reported over New Years weekend

Aklavik, N.W.T. entered a lockdown on Saturday that will last until Jan. 10, as the community deals with a COVID-19 outbreak, says Mayor Andrew Charlie. 

Charlie says he first heard the virus was in Aklavik on Dec. 31, now there are 13 active cases.

But he says the community is prepared. 

Back in fall 2021 as the territory dealt with the Delta variant outbreak, Charlie says Aklavik formed a committee to help plan for any future outbreaks within the community. 

"They had a plan in place, that plan seemed to be working quite well," Charlie says. 

The territorial government has not sent in a mobile team and the community's heath care staff have been conducting all the testing, Charlie says. 

With the lockdown all holiday events previously planned were cancelled. Recreational facilities and some services were shut down. Residents are only to associate with people in their household.

"Everybody is pretty quiet right now," Charlie says. 

The territory hasn't released COVID numbers since Dec. 31, at that time there were only four cases reported in the entire Beaufort Delta.