Stopping Iqaluit’s COVID-19 spread is top concern: Patterson

Stopping the continued spread of COVID-19 in Iqaluit is the biggest concern for Nunavut’s chief public health officer.

“We’re still seeing gatherings, we’re still seeing people visiting, going from house to house,” Dr. Michael Patterson said during a news conference on Monday.

Last week, Patterson identified parties as the main cause of new cases in the capital.

While contact tracing teams know of three parties, Patterson said that they have heard of more, including another one over the weekend.

On Monday, seven new cases and nine recoveries were reported in Iqaluit. There are now 70 active cases in the city.

No new hospitalizations or medevacs have occurred since last week. That number remains at three.

In Kinngait, some public health orders will be eased on Wednesday because its two remaining cases recovered over the weekend.

This includes lifting the community’s travel ban and reopening daycares. Schools will partially reopen at Stage 3. That means the elementary school will open three days a week, while the middle and high school will open two days a week on staggered schedules, with some remote learning.

Masks, however, continue to be mandatory in Kinngait.

Patterson said the recent recoveries in Kinngait and Rankin Inlet provide two lessons: contact tracing works, and it’s critical for people to contact public health once they develop symptoms.

“The individuals in Kinngait called within 24 hours of developing symptoms and stayed home until they were tested and got the results back,” he said.

In Iqaluit, there are still people in who call the hotline to get tested after days of being symptomatic and going about daily life, according to Patterson.

“If you get symptoms, stay at home, call the hotline,” he said, adding that calling the hotline does not automatically mean a resident must isolate.

In addition to people coming forward with symptoms, health teams in Iqaluit continue to conduct surveillance testing of certain groups and facilities, including taxi drivers, men’s shelters, staff at the boarding home and hospital, correctional facilities and the elders’ home.

According to Patterson, this is how the positive case was identified in a staff member at the home, which prompted the facility’s closure over the weekend.

Four residents were sent to Embassy West in Ottawa and two were sent elsewhere in the territory. All were tested before being transferred.

When staffing permits, Patterson said most residents will be able to return.

Asked whether the staff member who tested positive had received a vaccination, Patterson said he wasn’t sure.

Later Patterson did say that there have been five people in Iqaluit who have experienced vaccine failure, meaning that they became infected two weeks after their second dose.

Patterson said that all or most of those residents are asymptomatic, which he says is consistent with data from around the world.

Meanwhile, the number of cases detected at Baffin Correctional Centre is now at 12, up from 10 last Thursday.

“It’s really going to be the next few days, the next week, that tells us if there’s ongoing transmission,” Patterson said.

Patterson also said there are now six positive cases identified at the Iqaluit men’s shelter, the majority of whom have been relocated to one of the isolation facilities in the city.

As of Monday, 13 people are isolating at the Aqsarniit Hotel. As well, there are also 10 people with higher needs, including some from the low-barrier shelter, isolating at the Frobisher Inn.

Patterson said that public health staff follow up with residents who are isolating to ensure they’re following public health rules. If someone is not isolating, he said the first step is to find out why.

From there, teams try to provide support or alternative ways to meet that person’s needs.

Following that, warnings are issued.

Patterson said that public health had heard reports of people with COVID-19 choosing to ignore isolation orders. “We’ve heard some pretty strong accusations but without independent evidence, it’s not enough to lay charges,” he said.

“A few complaints” have been turned over to law enforcement to review, Patterson said.

To date, there have been no charges laid for breaking public health orders during Iqaluit’s outbreak.

“I understand everyone’s concern and anger and all of those things, but I don’t think you’re going to find one jurisdiction in the country, in the world, that’s been able to use enforcement and police as its main or sole mechanism of pandemic control,” Patterson said.

Iqaluit isn’t unique in having some residents who break isolation rules, he said.

“It’s a human phenomenon,” Patterson said. “I think every jurisdiction that’s dealt with outbreaks has dealt with this as well.”

Information obtained through contact tracing and healthcare efforts cannot be turned over as evidence in legal proceedings, he said.

“It’s complaints that are outside of that process that can result in charges,” Patterson said.

Patterson said that health staff are still looking into the possibility of administering the Pfizer vaccine to youth in the territory.

“We don’t know if or when we’ll be able to access Pfizer,” he said.

“I’m hoping to have an answer later this week.”

Patterson and Iqaluit Mayor Kenny Bell will also be taking COVID-19 questions during a CBC radio call-in show on Tuesday between 7:45 a.m. and 9:25 a.m.

To participate, call 979-6151 or toll-free at 1-888-896-4135.