IQALUIT, Nunavut – Nunavut is reporting its first confirmed instances of COVID-19.
The territory’s chief public well being officer, Dr. Michael Patterson, says in a information launch there are two instances on the Hope Bay gold mine 125 km southwest of Cambridge Bay.
Patterson says each miners are asymptomatic and have been uncovered to COVID-19 of their dwelling jurisdictions.
He says the samples examined constructive on the GeneXpert machine in Rankin Inlet late on September 16 and have been confirmed by the Nationwide Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg on Sunday.
A fly-in employee on the Mary River iron mine on the northern tip of Baffin Island was initially recognized constructive on June 30, however the preliminary consequence was on the low finish of the spectrum and an extra check in early July got here again unfavourable.
The territory says right now, there isn’t a proof of transmission inside the Hope Bay Mine web site.
“Hope Bay Mine is an remoted location, and no Nunavut residents at the moment work there. The danger of COVID-19 spreading in our communities due to these instances stays very low,” Well being Minister George Hickes mentioned in a information launch.
“We’re intently monitoring the scenario and we’ll preserve Nunavummiut knowledgeable if something modifications.”
The Nunavut authorities says its present public well being measures usually are not affected.
Till Saturday, Nunavut remained the one jurisdiction in Canada and not using a confirmed case of the an infection. A presumed constructive case within the spring additionally turned out to be unfavourable.
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Sept. 19, 2020.