May 22, 2020: COVID-19 update

Yukon’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Brendan Hanley has 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, May 22, at 2 p.m. the case count remains at 11 cases of COVID-19 in the territory.

All of the 11 people who have contracted COVID-19 in Yukon have recovered. There are no active cases in the territory and 1,145 people have been tested. We have had no new cases since April 20.

We have traced each case in Yukon so far to its origin which means there continues to be no known community spread in the territory. We assume community spread has occurred when we can no longer trace how somebody became infected.

Weekday updates

We update information about COVID-19 cases and tests every weekday on Yukon.ca, except public holidays. The information we publish includes how many confirmed cases there are in Yukon, how many tests have been negative, how many results are pending, the total number of tests and how many people have recovered.

Civil Emergency Measures Act new Order

A new health order was issued today under the Civil Emergency Measures Act. This Order allows the Minister of Community Services in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health to review and approve variations to the requirements and restrictions in the existing orders.

This will provide more flexibility as we move forward with the reopening plan so that services such as hair salons and dine-in restaurants can resume. It also allows the Government of Yukon to respond quickly and close services if we see a spike in COVID-19 cases or community spread of the virus in the territory.

Child care services

Licensed child care operators can now provide child care for the children of all Yukon families, rather than only for vulnerable families and the families of critical and essential workers. Child care operators can also return to their pre-COVID-19 enrolment numbers and are now following the new guidelines for operating child care centres during COVID-19.

Inspectors are working with child care operators to determine when they can return to their normal licensing capacity.

Restaurants

From May 29, restaurants can again provide dine-in services, as long as they have developed a COVID-19 operational plan to keep staff and customers safe and the government has approved the plan. Restaurants have been able to continue providing take-out services throughout the pandemic.

Personal services

Personal services businesses can reopen on May 27 as long as they have developed a COVID-19 operational plan and it has been approved by the government. Personal services businesses include hair salons, barber shops, tattoo parlours, nail salons and non-registered massage therapists.

We ask Yukoners to be patient and give businesses the time they need to get ready to provide services again after their complete closure.

COVID-19 operational plan template

All businesses, service providers and employers need to have a COVID-19 operational plan in place even if they were not mandated to close under the Civil Emergency Measures Act. They don’t need to have the plan approved in order to operate but need to have it available for inspection by the government.

The template for COVID-19 operational plans is on Yukon.ca.

As and when the government lifts restrictions on types of businesses currently mandated to close under the Civil Emergency Measures Act those businesses must complete a COVID-19 operational plan and have it approved by the government before they can reopen.

Recreational programming COVID-19 review form

Event planners and recreational programmers should develop a COVID-19 plan and get it approved by public health officials. The online form is on the “Request a review of business, service or event operations during COVID-19 page” of Yukon.ca.

Six steps to staying safe 

The six steps to staying safe and stopping the spread of COVID-19 are: physical distancing; regular hand washing; staying home when sick; not gathering in groups of more than 10; limiting travel to communities and self-isolating when required.

Latest information

To keep up to date with the latest information and to read the government’s reopening plan, A Path Forward: Yukon’s plan for lifting COVID-19 restrictions, Yukoners should visit Yukon.ca/COVID-19.