September 16 COVID-19 Update

Source: Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Government of Yukon

Yukon’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Brendan Hanley has issued the following updates for the Yukon public on measures being taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 cases and recoveries

As of today, September 16, at 2 p.m., the COVID-19 case count for Yukon is 15. Everyone has recovered. We have tested 3,020 people.

Respiratory Assessment Centre

From Wednesday, September 9, to Tuesday, September 16, we tested 129 people at the Respiratory Assessment Centre in Whitehorse.

Symptom criteria for staying home from schools and daycares

We have developed guidance based on three colour zones to help parents and guardians know when to keep children home from school or daycare.

(Since issuing the September 16, 2020, information bulletin, we’ve put more detailed guidance online about when people can send their children to school than we originally included here.)

Six new charges under the Civil Emergency Measures Act

Six new charges were laid under the Civil Emergency Measures Act on September 11 and September 15.

Two charges were laid on September 11:

  • failure to self-isolate; and
  • failure to transit through Yukon.

Four charges were laid on Sept 15:

  • two failures to self-isolate; and
  • two failures to behave in a manner consistent with the declaration.

We will not provide information that may identify anyone, such as their name or where they received the charge.

Reminder about isolation requirements

Travellers who are required to self-isolate must complete their entire 14-day isolation when they arrive back in Yukon. This includes people who spent time in BC, the NWT or Nunavut after they travelled from other regions of Canada or internationally. The entire 14-day isolation must happen after people arrive in Yukon.

People must also be reachable at the phone number and address they’ve provided on their declaration form throughout their period of self-isolation. They may receive a spot check call from the Government of Yukon. These spot check calls are separate from the Public Health Agency of Canada checks that are for people who have been outside the country.

Enforcement statistics

September 30, 2020: Please note that we have added a clarification to the “Other approved jurisdictions” category below.

The Government of Yukon has received 795 complaints:

  • Failure to self-isolate: 441
  • Social gatherings over 10 inside or 50 outside: 23
  • Failure to transit through Yukon in 24 hours or stay on the designated route: 308
  • Businesses failing to comply with Orders: 8
  • Failure to abide by a declaration form or not permitted entry into Yukon: 13
  • Other: 2

There have been 12 charges in total laid under the Civil Emergency Measures Act (CEMA).

A total of 45,685 travellers have come into Yukon:

Resident travellers: 9,379

  • BC residents: 8,615
  • NWT residents: 257
  • Other approved jurisdictions: 623*
  • Non-residents staying: 8,999
  • Non-residents transiting: 17,764
  • Other: 48
  • Decals distributed indicating out-of-territory vehicles allowed in Yukon: 261

* Due to the fact that the way we’ve collected traveller data has changed since we started collecting statistics, the “Other approved jurisdictions” category has been used to categorize travellers that did not fall into an existing category. We’re reviewing how we collect and categorize statistics to maintain accuracy, and will make adjustments as necessary.