House parties and other gatherings blamed for Iqaluit’s rise in COVID-19 cases

May 6, 2021 | 11:08 AM

IQALUIT, Nunavut — Nunavut’s chief public health officer says house parties and visits between households are to blame for a rise in COVID-19 cases in Iqaluit. 

Dr. Michael Patterson says he knows of at least three house parties in Iqaluit where COVID-19 was transmitted. 

As a result, anyone who attended a party in the last three weeks in the city is asked to call the COVID-19 hotline and get tested. 

Although gatherings are banned in the city, Patterson says public health will not report people to law enforcement who have been to a house party and call the hotline.