Nunavut premier calls community health reps ‘heroes’ of pandemic

Premier Joe Savikataaq included the territory’s community health representatives among the “heroes” of the pandemic Thursday, as Nunavut marked a third consecutive day with no active cases of COVID-19.

There have been “many heroes” during the COVID-19 pandemic, Savikataaq wrote in a tweet.

“But one group that isn’t recognized enough are Nunavut’s Community Health Representatives! These incredible people help keep our communities informed, prepared and safe.”

“Matna for all you do,” the Premier added.

On Tuesday, the Government of Nunavut announced the number of active cases fell to zero, after the eight remaining people who were confirmed to have the respiratory illness were deemed to have recovered. Nunavut’s caseload had been sitting at eight for about a week.

Iqaluit was the last Nunavut community reporting COVID-19 cases. Its first-ever case was detected on April 14.

The government announced this week that public health restrictions would be eased on Friday in the Kivalliq region hamlet of Rankin Inlet and the throughout the Qikiqtani region hamlets — except for Iqaluit.

Despite not having any active cases, Savikataaq warned on Tuesday that the outbreak in Iqaluit is not over. To declare an end to the outbreak, there needs to be 28 days without a new cases, following the last recovery.

Across Canada, the number of COVID-19 cases continues to fall. There were fewer than 10,000 active cases on Wednesday, after peaking at close to 90,000 in April, according to the federal government’s COVID-19 update website.

There have been 26,175 COVID-19-related deaths across Canada since the pandemic began. Four deaths have been recorded in Nunavut.