Caroline Cochrane: NWT State of Emergency, COVID-19

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Good afternoon, thank you for joining us today.

This week, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs Paulie Chinna exercised her authority under the Emergency Management Act and declared a state of emergency for the Northwest Territories.

I want to emphasize and reassure NWT residents that this step was not taken because the risk of COVID-19 to the NWT has increased or that the situation is worse than before. It is not.

The Northwest Territories still has only one confirmed case of COVID-19 and our government has taken swift action to restrict travel into the NWT and set up self-isolation facilities for returning NWT residents in regional centres.

The main reason for this decision was to make sure that the Emergency Management Organization – or EMO – has all the tools it needs to implement the orders of the Chief Public Health Officer to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in our communities.

This declaration is all about making sure that our officials who are working night and day to support the Chief Public Health Officer and slow the spread of COVID-19 have all the resources and authority they need to do their jobs.

Last week, when Minister Thom, Dr. Kandola, and I spoke to media about the NWT’s first and only confirmed case of COVID-19, we promised to take strong action to protect the people of the Northwest Territories. That is what this decision is – strong action.

I have spoken at length with Minister Chinna about this decision. She is working remotely from her home in Norman Wells and was unable to join us for this news conference, but will be available to media this afternoon.

I want to let people know that the Minister has not taken this step lightly. She has given a lot of thought to the needs of the entire territory and she wants to make sure that she has done everything in her power to help the Chief Public Health Officer and our staff slow the spread of COVID-19.

In closing, I want to assure the people of the Northwest Territories that their government is putting everything it has into slowing the spread of COVID-19 and reducing its impact on our communities.

All Ministers and Departments are committed to this fight and we are working day and night to protect our people and our communities, along with our community and Indigenous government partners, and our partners in the federal and provincial governments.

We know we face challenges, but Northerners are tough, resilient people and I am confident that we can meet that challenge together.

By all of us working together, we will be able to address this pandemic.

Once again, I would like to remind the public to follow the health and safety precautions:

• Wash your hands frequently;
• Keep your physical distance from people to 2 metres;
• Stay home as much as possible, especially if you’re sick;
• Follow the procedures outlined on the Health and Social Services website if you are unwell and have flu-like symptoms;
• And don’t forget to keeping talking to your friends and neighbours via social media or calling.

Together, we will get through this.

I would now like to turn it over to EMO Director Ivan Russell to explain some of the details of this declaration.