Nunavut has returned to zero COVID-19 cases, after its only case in the predominantly Inuit community of Pond Inlet was ruled a false positive.
The territory’s single case was announced last week. Upon retesting, the result was found to be a false positive, said Dr. Michael Patterson, Nunavut’s Chief Public Health Officer.
“We believe that the individual in Pond Inlet does not – and never did have – COVID-19,” Dr. Patterson said at a press conference on Monday.
About 20 people who had been in contact with the person thought to have COVID-19 were tested last week. A “rapid response team," including three public-health nurses, also arrived in Pond Inlet to continue contact tracing and organize the response.
But none of the additional tests turned up positive, Dr. Patterson said.
“As there were no other positive COVID-19 tests in Pond Inlet, we decided to ask for the original swab to be retested and a new test be conducted,” Dr. Patterson said.
The false positive result came from a lab in Ontario, Dr. Patterson said. Nunavut has limited testing capacity in Iqaluit, but is also sending tests done in Iqaluit to the south for additional testing, Dr. Patterson said.
“No lab test is perfect; there is always a chance of false positive or false negative results," he said.
Measures imposed last week restricting travel in and out of Pond Inlet have been lifted, although all other restrictions related to the territory’s public-health emergency remain in effect. Nunavut declared a public-health emergency in mid-March.
Mumilaaq Qaqqaq, Nunavut’s sole MP, noted the false positive test on Twitter on Monday. She urged residents to continue to follow physical-distancing guidelines and self-isolate if they have symptoms. She also called on the federal government to address water-quality issues in Pond Inlet.
“[Justin Trudeau’s] government must also step up and assist this community in their water crisis before the spring thaw hits,” she wrote.
Pond Inlet has been pumping water manually for about eight months, since its water pump broke, David Qamaniq, the territorial assembly member representing Pond Inlet, told The Globe and Mail.
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