The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is launching a new campaign focused on residents learning to live with COVID-19 as we adapt to a new normal.

Starting today, Setting Your COVID-19 Safety Nets will promote how layers of protection outlined in Emerging Wisely 2021 can work together to reduce risk so we can continue to protect ourselves and our communities from the virus.

The best way for residents to protect themselves from COVID-19 is to use layers of protective barriers. By viewing these different layers of protection as nets set to catch COVID-19, layering them all together creates the best overall security for the territory.

Managing the COVID-19 pandemic in the NWT must incorporate the ability to pivot when necessary. The GNWT is looking ahead at how residents, businesses and communities can become accustomed to determining personal risk when we are able to move from a pandemic to an endemic state. Individual actions will remain vital to establishing our well-being once there are no more public health orders in the NWT.

Quote(s)

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, it’s been said that every resident plays an important part in our ability to protect the health and well-being of our communities. As we begin to move towards a post-pandemic Northwest Territories, we all need to understand our individual roles and be empowered to make personal choices that result in collective action that keeps everyone in the NWT safe.”

- Caroline Cochrane, Premier of the Northwest Territories

“Many generations have never seen a pandemic like this before and it has re-shaped how we live our day to day lives. The Setting Your COVID-19 Safety Nets campaign contextualizes the idea of living with COVID-19 and managing risk in a way that is engaging and relatable to northerners. By using the tools outlined in the campaign, such as online quizzes and risk assessments, we are able to think about our own situations within the larger picture as we visualize moving forward. 

- Julie Green, Minister of Health and Social Services

“Public health decisions are based on data that changes daily. Therefore, we must always recognize that managing the COVID-19 pandemic in the NWT must incorporate the ability to pivot when situations change. However, we do know that vaccination, safe travel, healthy habits, and health system capabilities are key to living with COVID-19 long-term. This campaign is about developing that mindset.”

- Dr. Kami Kandola, Chief Public Health Officer

Quick facts

• Nearly 30,000 NWT residents are now fully vaccinated and close to 87,000 doses have been delivered safely and effectively in the past 11 months.

The key safety nets outlined in Emerging Wisely 2021 include:

• • Vaccination: The vaccines available in the NWT are very safe and effective. Even if someone who is fully vaccinated develops COVID-19, the vaccination provides protection against severe symptoms and reduces the chance of hospitalization.
  • Safe travel: COVID-19 will continue to find a way to enter the territory. Safe travel decreases the risk of importation from another jurisdiction.
  • Healthy Habits: Healthy habits are things you can do everyday to protect yourself and are especially important to apply in order to decrease potential risks during gatherings.
  • Health System Capacity: Several key pillars of the public health response that has been in place throughout the Public Health Emergency will remain on an as-needed basis once the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
• So far over 105,000 Self-Isolation Plans have been submitted to ProtectNWT since the start of the reporting period on Mar. 21, 2020.
• As of November 30, 2021, the NWT has had:
  • 2,132 cases of COVID-19
  • 60 hospitalizations
  • 19 ICU admissions
  • 12 deaths
  • over 36,000 individual COVID-19 tests administered

Related links

• Setting Your COVID-19 Safety Nets
• COVID-19 Vaccine
• COVID-19 Hotspots
• COVID-19 Healthy Habits
• Emerging Wisely 2021 – Key Pillars of Public Health Response

For media requests, please contact:

Dawn Ostrem

Manager, Communications

COVID-19 Coordinating Secretariat

Government of the Northwest Territories

Email: dawn_ostrem@gov.nt.ca

 (867) 767-9488 ext.61116