Most team sports postponed in Yukon, Old Crow moves to lockdown

There are currently no people in the hospital due to COVID-19 in the Yukon, said the territory's top doctor.

Premier Sandy Silver and Dr. Catherine Elliott, the Yukon's acting chief medical officer of health, gave the latest update on COVID-19 in the territory Tuesday at a news conference.

Elliott credits preventative public health measures for keeping hospitalizations low.

Late Friday afternoon, the territory announced new public health measures to help deal with the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the territory. Those came into effect Tuesday.

As of Tuesday, Elliott said there were 306 known active COVID-19 cases, though there are many more cases that are not counted due to rapid testing at home. Officials have also told Yukoners to skip testing and assume they have COVID-19 if they have symptoms related to the illness. 

"You'll note that there is a decline noted in the case counts, which we expected and it's related to the changes in who requires PCR testing," Elliott said. "The total number of people with COVID-19 is of course higher than these numbers."

Last week, the territory said it expects the number of cases to grow "for at least the next three to five weeks."

The test positivity rate in the Yukon stood at 40 per cent as of Jan. 11, compared to eight per cent on Dec. 28. Yukon's positivity rate is among the highest in the country, which has an average positivity rate of 30 per cent.

Most team sports to be postponed

Officials also worked to clarify the health measures that came into effect Tuesday.

The new rules – which were announced at 7 p.m. last Friday –  limit gatherings to 10 people or less from a maximum of two vaccinated households. That goes for recreational team sports, group fitness and group recreation.

Tracy Bilsky, executive director of Sport Yukon, told CBC News Tuesday morning that the rules for sports are unclear.

"Everyone is overwhelmed. Everyone is tired. So clarity and simplification are really crucial when people are at that point," Bilsky said.

Elliot said for indoor sports, it means two households "in a unit" can participate.

"So, that does mean that team sports will need to be postponed at this time for this period" she said. "But people can recreate with one other household in small groups."

Silver added that "having an opportunity to have some sport was important for mental health."

"We've done what we need to do, so that we don't have to do more measures later on," Silver said. "I get it. It's tough."

Health Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee said earlier Tuesday that the government will offer sports groups a technical briefing on the new rules, though she couldn't say when that will be.

Communities take own measures

On Tuesday afternoon, the Vuntut Gwitchin government announced on Facebook that Old Crow is in lockdown due to COVID-19 until Jan. 24. The lockdown means the Chief Zzeh Gittlit School and the co-op store will be closed until Monday, but people can contact the local administration to place an order for groceries to be delivered.

 Visitors will also need prior permission to enter the community during this period.

The post also said a rapid testing station will be set up Wednesday at the new community hall.

The Vuntut Gwichin government also said the rapid testing station will help give the community a better idea of how many cases it has, as the territory currently reports zero there. 

"However, we have to keep in mind that rapid tests are not 100% reliable, so if anyone has any symptoms of COVID, or any cold or flu-like symptoms that might be COVID, they should self-isolate," the post states.

Meanwhile, Dawson City announced it was postponing all city-led, indoor, recreation programming for groups at this time. It recommended that all third parties postpone programs as well, however, a notice on the city's website says it has "given them the option to continue if they can find a reasonable way to operate within these restrictions."

The city's notice says drop-in skating/hockey programs (Sticks & Skates, Public Skate, Parent & Tot Skate, Children's Hockey Skate) will continue to operate, but with limited capacities.  

Antiviral drug 

On Monday, Health Canada approved Pfizer's COVID-19 treatment for use in adults 18 and older, paving the way for the distribution of the drug within the country.

Silver said the Yukon has been in talks with the federal government about it, but said he did not have an update on timelines right now.

"We did get an indication of the size of the initial batch, and then from there, we'll see how the supply chain moves," he said. "There's been a supply chain issue already for lots of things. This is no different, but we'll get that information as soon as we possibly can."