While welcoming more travellers, Yukon tests fewest people in the North for COVID-19

Since thousands of new travellers were welcomed to the territory, Yukon's health authorities have tested just a few dozen people for COVID-19, and no travellers at all.

A spokesperson for the Yukon government confirmed that 59 people had been tested for COVID-19 between July 1, when border restrictions were lifted, and July 13, all of whom were Yukon residents. In the same period, more than 4,700 travellers entered the territory.

"Each Canadian jurisdiction will test according to local epidemiology, human resources and infrastructure and other considerations," wrote Nigel Allan, a spokesperson for the territory's Health Emergency Operations Centre. "Yukon's approach has been effective in the early identification and management of cases to date."

Yukon has identified 11 cases of COVID-19 to date, the last of which recovered May 1.

On July 1, Yukon became the first territory to lift restrictions on non-essential travel, opening the border to visitors from B.C., the N.W.T., and Nunavut.

Government numbers show since then, more than 1,400 visitors have come from British Columbia, which recorded 233 new cases of COVID-19 in the same period. A recent surge in new cases had health officials warning the disease could be "silently circulating" in communities.

Like many jurisdictions across Canada and around the world, Yukon's testing strategy does not involve the testing of asymptomatic individuals. There is no requirement for travellers entering the territory to be tested, and Allan said the territory was not considering creating one.

"Our public health response has been to identify those persons who are symptomatic early on and support the testing of these persons," wrote Allan. "Currently there is limited evidence regarding the utility of testing individuals who are asymptomatic and at this time it [is] not generally recommended."

Territory lags behind on testing

Since the pandemic began, Yukon has struggled to keep pace with testing numbers in the other territories.

While Nunavut has averaged 83 tests per week since April 1 and the N.W.T. has averaged 123, the Yukon has averaged just 43.

As cold and flu season ended with spring, Nunavut expanded testing criteria to include people who had not recently travelled. The N.W.T. went further, allowing tests for anyone experiencing "general unease."

But Yukon did not widen their testing criteria until this week.

The result is that Yukon has tested the fewest people per capita of the three territories — less than Nunavut, where most travellers must self-isolate before even entering the territory, and less than half the amount in the N.W.T.

Yukon now advises anyone experiencing coronavirus-like symptoms — headache, cough, nausea, loss of smell and other symptoms — to seek out a test, which are available in every community.

But recent evidence suggests a significant proportion of COVID-19 carriers never show symptoms — though it's not clear just how many or what role they play in spreading the disease.

Public health officials, including Dr. Brendan Hanley, Yukon's chief medical officer of health, have frequently warned that asymptomatic testing may give people a false sense of confidence they are not carrying the disease, and embolden them to ignore physical distancing and other health measures.

If you are feeling sick and are unsure if you require a test, call 811 or use the territory's online self-assessment tool.