Yukon officials explain holiday isolation rules, announce new COVID-19 case

Yukon's chief medical officer confirmed a new case during the weekly COVID-19 update Tuesday, while explaining isolation rules for visitors during the holidays.

Meanwhile, the Yukon government extended its state of emergency for another 90 days, under the Civil Emergency Measures Act (CEMA), which allows for border controls and isolation requirements.

Premier Sandy Silver said the state of emergency may be in effect for as long as the pandemic poses a risk to Yukoners.

Speaking on Tuesday, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brendan Hanley confirmed a new case outside of Whitehorse, after the government confirmed three new cases of COVID-19 in Whitehorse on Monday.

While he would not name the location of the latest case to protect confidentiality, Hanley said there is no public risk in that community. He said the person was already isolating because they were linked to a Whitehorse case.

The territory now has 10 active cases, with a territorial total of 58 cases since the start of the pandemic. Forty-seven people have recovered, and one person has died.

Community transmission not ruled out

Hanley said he is encouraged to see the rate of new cases "slowing." He said most of the recent cases are linked to the ongoing outbreak in Whitehorse and are already isolating, or are linked to out-of-territory travel.

"We're seeing very few cases associated also with any of our public notifications," he said. 

However, he said, "we cannot rule out community transmission at this time." Hanley said he expects to see new cases among contacts.

Hanley said there have been "numerous" cases tied to a workplace, and stressed the importance of staying home while sick.

He also asked people to stick with a consistent social bubble of 10 to 15 people, which includes the people you live with.

Isolating with holiday visitors

As the holidays approach, officials also explained rules for isolating with visitors.

People who are visiting from outside the territory must isolate for 14 days. However, their hosts in Yukon can isolate along with their guests if they want to interact during that time. 

This way, for example, a university student could visit for five days if their family is willing to isolate with them.

However, if the visitor leaves before 14 days are up, the people in that household must continue to isolate for three days after they leave.

Hanley said this is because people can be infectious for up to three days before they develop symptoms.

If the guest or host develops symptoms during those three days, they must self-isolate for 14 days after the guest's departure.

If nobody develops symptoms during those three days, they can leave self-isolation and carry on as usual.

Vaccines won't arrive in North until new year

On Monday, the federal government said the first Pfizer vaccines in 2020 will go to 14 distribution centres in large urban areas. None of them will be shipped for distribution in the territories.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the territories will be included in the three million vaccine doses at the beginning of 2021, which will include a combination of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Premier Sandy Silver said teams are working on storage concerns, but details are being finalized. He said there would be information about vaccine availability and distribution in Yukon before the end of the week

Hanley said he was not worried about the vaccine availability and that Yukon has not been lobbying for Pfizer because of the logistical challenges with storage.

New public health measures

The territorial government imposed new public health measures this month, as the number of cases in Yukon rose. 

As of Monday, restaurants and bars have to collect the contact information of at least one person for every party eating or drinking at their business to help with COVID-19 tracing. Last week, on Dec. 1, wearing masks in indoor public places was made mandatory in Yukon.

Hanley said his team is reviewing guidelines to prepare for potential surges.

"Be prepared for further public health measures should COVID activity continue, or should we see signs of community transmission," he said.