Decision follows uptick in COVID-19 cases in N.W.T.
A photo of the Yellowknife airport. The Nunavut government and N.W.T. governments have suspended a common travel area between the two jurisdictions as of Tuesday. (File photo)
The common travel area that Nunavut shares with the Northwest Territories has been suspended.
The order was given by Nunavut’s deputy chief public health officer, Dr. Anne Huang on Tuesday.
When in effect, the common travel area allows people from Nunavut to travel to the N.W.T. and vice versa, without having to isolate for 14 days.
The suspension follows an outbreak in the N.W.T. this week.
Residents of Nunavut currently in the N.W.T. who are not fully vaccinated must stay in the designated isolation hub in Yellowknife for 14 days before returning to Nunavut.
There are exceptions, though. Air travellers with the same-ticket layovers in the Yellowknife airport, vaccinated travellers that have unvaccinated dependants who are 12 years old and under, critical workers with authorized travel letters and individuals who have been granted compassionate exemptions will not have to go through a hub, according to a news release the Nunavut government issued Tuesday.
When one traveller of a household has to isolate, so do all the other unvaccinated members of that residence, the news release states.
When everybody in a household is isolating, they must have groceries delivered. If groceries cannot be delivered, one isolating member of the household can get groceries once a week.
Anyone who thinks they have been exposed to COVID-19 is asked to call the COVID hotline at 1-888-975-8601 or call their community health centre. The COVID hotline operates from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
