COVID-19 GN Update - November 11, 2020

COVID-19 GN Update

The Chief Public Health Officer has confirmed a positive COVID-19 case in Rankin Inlet An update will be provided at a press conference at 11 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday, November 12.

As part of the Government of Nunavut’s (GN) effort to protect Nunavummiut against the risk of COVID-19, GN Departments are implementing the following:

Department of Health Services

Unless it is an emergency, we are asking that people in Rankin Inlet call the health centre first and get direction. Anyone with questions about COVID-19 are asked to call the hotline at 1-888-975-8601.

Adjusted services:

• All prenatal appointments will be by appointment only, through the birthing centre.

Closed/Cancelled/Suspended services:

• All speciality clinics are cancelled until further notice.
• Dental services are cancelled except for emergency only.
• Telehealth appointments are cancelled until further notice.
• Non-essential medical travel to Iqaluit is postponed. Appointments will be rescheduled at a later date.
• Home care visits are suspended at this time.

Department of Education Services

K-12 Schools

• There is a confirmed case of COVID-19 in Rankin Inlet.
• According to Nunavut’s Chief Public Health Officer, Rankin Inlet is now in Stage 4: Confirmed positive case of COVID-19, until further notice.
• Schools in Rankin Inlet will be implementing their Stage 4 action plans.
• All schools in Rankin Inlet are closed to students, staff, and the public until further notice from the Chief Public Health Officer.
• All instruction in Rankin Inlet will be conducted remotely.
• Remote learning will be done by telephone and learning packages.
• Teachers/school staff will be contacting their students and families as soon as possible.
• Updates on community stages will be posted on the Department of Education website: https://gov.nu.ca/education/information/2020-21-opening-plan-nunavut-sc…
• The school closure in Rankin Inlet will not affect staff pay.
• The department recommends that the Rankin Inlet District Education Authority (DEA) staff not attend work.
• Funding to the Rankin Inlet DEA will not be affected, and the Rankin Inlet DEA is encouraged to continue to pay their employees as normal.
• DEA staff in all other Kivalliq communities (Stage 2 communities) should attend work for essential duties only and coordinate with school leaders regarding their presence in schools.

Early Learning and Child Care

• Because of the confirmed case of COVID-19 all child care facilities in Rankin Inlet have been recommended to close by the Chief Public Health Officer.
• Government of Nunavut funding to licensed child care facilities in Rankin Inlet will continue as normal.

Department of Family Services

Rankin Inlet Child Welfare Protection

If you are concerned about the safety and wellbeing of a child and/or youth, call your local Community Social Services Office.
Family Wellness (CSSW): (867) 645 5064 or (867) 645 7608
Family Wellness Supervisor (867) 645 5064 or (867) 645 6547
Territory-wide contact: 1-844-FW-CHILD (1-844-392-4453)
RCMP - (867) 645-1111

If you are concerned about the services that a child or youth are receiving or have comments or compliments to share, contact us at 1 855 522-5201 or email us at @email

Social services and local RCMP contact information for each community can be found on the Family Wellness section of our website at https://www.gov.nu.ca/family-services/information/child-protection.

Visits to the Rankin Inlet Group Home
Visits to the Rankin Inlet Group Home will not be permitted at this time. The Chief Public Health Officer has stated that residents of Rankin Inlet are to remain home as much as possible and limit contact with others outside their immediate households.

Rankin Inlet Income Assistance Regional Contact Information
Kivalliq: Toll-Free 1-800-953-8516 ext 1602
Kivalliq Regional Office: 1-867-645-5040 ext 1602 or ext 1600

Rankin Inlet Career Development Information
Kivalliq – 1-800-953-8516

Adult Learning Training Support (ALTS) students currently enrolled in programs in Rankin Inlet will continue to receive their training allowances to the end of the fiscal year.

Department of Economic Development and Transportation Services

Ongoing services:

• Airport operations and maintenance will continue.
• Access to the Rankin Inlet Air Terminal Building is restricted to staff, passengers, and people providing assistance to passengers
• Masks must be worn at all times in the Rankin Inlet Air Terminal Building.

Adjusted services:

• All other departmental services are transitioning to work-from-home, with Directors and other essential staff in-office.
• Motor Vehicles Registrations and most Licence renewal are still being done.
• General Identification can be provided on an urgent basis only.
• No new Driver’s Licences can be processed until further notice.
• Applications for the following services can be found online at https://www.gov.nu.ca/motor_vehicles :
  •  Driver’s Licence Renewals
  • General Identification Card Renewals
  • Vehicle Registration Renewals
  • Requests for Driver’s Abstracts, Vehicle Searches, and Accident Reports
• Clients can download a pdf application form from the website and email it directly to @email
• Other services can be accessed by contacting the Motor Vehicles Division directly at @email or by calling 1-888-975-5999 (toll free) or 1-867-975-7800 for assistance.
  • These services include First time Vehicle Registration and Temporary (Emergency) Travel Identification

Closed /Cancelled/Suspended services:

• All non-urgent Motor Vehicles Services including Driver Exams, all Visitors Center Programing, all departmentally hosted conference and in person training.

Department of Justice Services

Community Justice
In-person meetings for Community Justice are restricted to emergency situations where the client has no access to a phone or safe location to contact our service providers over the phone. Individuals are asked to contact the on-call Family Abuse Intervention Act (FAIA) line if they have any questions or need support using the following number 1-844-534-1038. The call will be assessed to determine the support needed and directed to a Community Justice Specialist who can help with applications and resource referrals.

Community Corrections
The Rankin Inlet Community Corrections office will be closed to the public until further notice. All Rankin Inlet Community Corrections clients are to report by phone to the Community Corrections Officer using the following number: 1-844-249-7623.

Rankin Inlet Healing Facility
To ensure the health and safety of all staff and inmates within our facility, all in person visitation will be suspended until further notice.

Department of Environment Services
The Department of Environment continues to provide services Nunavut-wide as usual, following recommended public health measures.
The Rankin Inlet wildlife office and parks office are closed to the public until further notice. The department will continue to respond to problem wildlife and spills.

• For wildlife response in Rankin Inlet, call 867-645-6447, 24 hours a day.
• All spills are to be reported to the Nunavut Spill Line at 867-920-8130, 24 hours a day: https://www.gov.nu.ca/environment/documents/spill-response

Department of Human Resources Services

GN offices in Rankin Inlet are closed to the public.

All non-essential Government of Nunavut (GN) employees in Rankin Inlet are to work from home. Your supervisor will work with you to provide any needed equipment or resources to work from home. Suggestions and tips for working from home can be found on the GN Intranet site: http://intranet/covid19/ and will be sent via email.

You can access your work emails by logging into Microsoft Office 365 on your computer at https://www.office.com/ or downloading the Microsoft Outlook app on your smart phone.

All essential GN employees in Rankin Inlet will work at their workplaces and follow the Health, Safety and Wellness Checklists for GN Workplaces and the Return to the Workplace Checklist for GN Employees, read the COVID-19 Questions and Answers and follow posted health and safety signage to prevent the spread of COVID-19. You can find the checklists, questions and answers and posters on the GN Intranet site: http://intranet/covid19/.

Contact @email if you don’t have access to the GN Intranet site and require copies of any of the resources posted there.

At this time, GN employees in all other communities other than non-essential employees in Sanikiluaq and Rankin Inlet are to report to work as normal.

There’s help

The GN encourages our employees and their family members to explore how our Employee and Family Assistance Program can help at this time. The Employee and Family Assistance Program includes a toll-free confidential phone number, 1-800-663-1142, that employees and/or their family members can call at any time to talk to a trained counsellor in any of Nunavut’s official languages, and also includes online resources and tools at www.homewoodhealth.com.

Nunavummiut’s health is our shared responsibility! Remember: wash your hands and surfaces, practice social distancing, listen to the advice of health officials, and stay home if you’re sick.