COVID-19 in the Yukon – the past, present, and future
I haven’t said much about the COVID-19 situation here, mostly because it’s been changing so fast. Back on April 23rd my posted was entitled “It’s a strange world – I hope you’re all okay,” and that statement still applies. Our lockdown didn’t last very long, and we haven’t had an active case in some 12 weeks now. But let’s go back and look at the whole story here.
March 18: Anticipating what could be ahead, the Yukon government declared a Public Health Emergency on March 18th. Gatherings over 50 people were banned, and indoor recreation facilities and libraries were closed. While the Canada-US border was closed to non-essential travel, there were no travel restrictions in place within Canada.
The Yukon government posted their first COVID-19 public update on March 20th.
March 22: Our first 2 COVID-19 cases in the Yukon were reported on March 22nd. It was a couple from Whitehorse who had attended a conference in Texas. They were tested when they arrived at the Whitehorse airport.
“Social distancing” was quickly adopted and accepted as the norm. The next photo shot on April 8th shows new distancing decals on the floor of Save-On Foods in Whitehorse, as well as plexiglas shields separating checkout clerks from shoppers.
At the 3 Yukon border checkpoints, travellers are given verbal and written instruction on the regulations, and a map that very clearly shows that the “Mandated Route” through the territory is the Alasa Highway, and side trips, including into Whitehorse, are not permitted.
On May 22nd, I began “The Pandemic Album” in my Yukon History & Abandoned Places group on Facebook. The idea behind it was to share photos and experiences, as “we are seeing history being made, and are all part of it.” There are currently 58 captioned photos.
As of yesterday, 29,030 people have been allowed to enter the Yukon.
Due to many reports about people being allowed to transit through the Yukon to Alaska being in places they were not allowed to be (primarily in downtown Whitehorse), a COVID-19 information station was set up on the Alaska Highway at the rest area just before the first access road to the city.
On July 8th, I got up at 04:00 to speak with Rosemary Barton on the national CBC Radio program “The Current.” As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the U.S., there are concerns around the border with Canada, and who’s crossing it. Jason MacLean in Nova Scotia and Murray Lundberg in Yukon discuss the measures to check who’s coming into their communities, and loopholes to get around them, and Dr. Isaac Bogosh warns about the risks of undoing the hard work to get the pandemic under control in Canada. The program is online here. The program was also used for an online article, where the 659 comments posted so far show the overwhelming wish of Canadians to keep our borders closed, to Americans in particular.
Because we’ve not had a serious COVID-19 outbreak yet, masks that were common in May are not often seen anymore. This photo of me at the Black Lives Matter rally on June 6th was shot by Fred Smith.
I left this article for 3 weeks. Since then, the COVID-19 situation in the United States has gone critical. The Alaska DHSS two days announced 231 new cases there, 154 in Anchorage alone. Skagway is still clean. The Yukon’s count has risen by 3, but they were all outside the territory when they got infected and won’t be returning until they’re healthy, so I don’t understand why they’re added to our numbers.
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