Another wave of COVID-19 has hit the Yukon hard over the last week, particularly over the New Year’s weekend.

There are 269 active cases, the Yukon government reported late this morning. A total of 31 new cases were reported overnight Monday.

As well, the death of a 15th Yukoner has been attributed to the virus.

Dr. Catherine Elliott, the territory’s acting chief medical officer of health, reported the latest death of the Yukon citizen. The first death was reported in October 2020.

“I am very sad to report another COVID-19 death here in the Yukon,” Elliott said in a statement last week.

“My deepest sympathies go out to the family and friends of this individual. Out of respect for the individual and their family, we will not be releasing any additional information.”

There is a 32 per cent test positivity rate.

That suggests the actual number of cases is far higher because many people are not being diagnosed.

Elliott is urging Yukoners to stay home when sick, with even the mildest of symptoms.

“Like most other jurisdictions in Canada, and as expected, we are unfortunately seeing the Omicron wave rising here in the territory,” she said. “Omicron continues to spread much faster than other variants we’ve seen.

“I am urging anyone who has even the slightest symptoms to stay home. We are hearing stories of whole families who are isolating, together even though maybe only two or three people are ill.

“To those people, I want to say thank you. Thank you for continuing to break the cycle of transmission, stopping the spread of COVID-19 and protecting our community. Staying home when sick, even mildly, is now more important than ever.”

Based on new recommendations from Elliott, additional temporary public health measures are being introduced in the Yukon to limit the spread of COVID-19.

In recent days, there has been community transmission of the Omicron variant.

Though the Yukon remains in a state of emergency, schools reopened this morning. Most other provinces and territories have delayed the resumption of the school year for at least several weeks.

Additional measures are being introduced to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 and limit impacts on the health care system.

New, temporary public health measures include:

• Limits on indoor personal gatherings to 10 people from a maximum of two households if all eligible people are vaccinated; household members only if any eligible people are unvaccinated.

• Limits on outdoor personal gatherings to 25 people from a maximum of three households regardless of vaccination status.

• Limits on organized gatherings: proof of vaccination is required; indoor gatherings limited to 25 people or 50 per cent of venue capacity, whichever is less; outdoor gatherings limited to 50 people.

• Restrictions on restaurants, bars and nightclubs: proof of vaccination required for table service with a limit of six people per table; tables need to be spaced two metres (six feet) apart; no bar or counter eating or service; no moving between tables and no dancing.

• Restrictions on entertainment venues, including movie theatres, theatres and museums: proof of vaccination is required; limited to 25 people or 50 per cent venue capacity, whichever is less.

• Restrictions on recreation and leisure sites, including gyms, fitness studios, sports facilities and arts studios: proof of vaccination is required; limited to 25 people or 50 per cent of venue capacity, whichever is less.

• Recreational team sports: proof of vaccination is required; activities within cohort or teams only up to a limit of 25 people (e.g., practice, skills and drills); no games between teams. Out-of-territory travel for sporting events is not recommended.

• Limits on businesses and retail: maximum 50 per cent capacity. Businesses are strongly recommended to have operational plans in place to limit close contact among people and keep their employees and customers safe.

• Restrictions on personal services establishments: proof of vaccination is required; limited to 25 people or 50 per cent of venue, whichever is less.

• Restrictions on faith-based services: proof of vaccination is required; limited to 25 people or 50 per cent of venue capacity, whichever is less.

• Public saunas and steam rooms or baths are not allowed to operate.

Yukoners are strongly encouraged to follow these new measures immediately.

They will be enforced under the Civil Emergency Measures Act starting this Friday.

Mandatory masking continues to be in effect in all indoor public settings and in outdoor public settings where physical distancing cannot be maintained. All Yukoners are strongly encouraged to continue practising the Safe 6 at all times:

1. Keep a physical distance of two metres (six feet) from people not in your household.

2. Keep your hands clean – wash or sanitize them often.

3. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you should stay home and avoid going to work or other social places.

4. Avoid crowds – follow public health recommendations for gatherings.

5. Avoid unnecessary travel to communities – travel only for essential purposes and travel respectfully.

6. Self-isolate if you have COVID-19, if you are waiting test results for COVID-19, or if you have been advised to do so by public health officials.

The news release stated, “It is strongly recommended that Yukoners entering or returning to the territory limit contacts to their household only during the first three days upon return.

“To prevent the spread, it is recommended that during the first five days of entry or return, people should only go into their community for essential needs.

“It is strongly recommended that all close contacts of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 isolate for seven days if the close contact has not received their booster shot.”

With the new Omicron variant spreading quickly in the territory, said Premier Sandy Silver, “We need to take action to protect the health and safety of all Yukoners and ensure our health care system is not overwhelmed.

“These new temporary public health measures are intended to limit the number of contacts between individuals and reduce transmission. We all have a role to play in keeping our territory safe and we all need to take precautions to prevent COVID-19 from spreading in our communities.”

Elliott offered more observations about the community transmission of the Omicron variant.

“This variant is highly transmissible, and we are seeing spread in household gatherings, workplaces and organized events and among vaccinated and unvaccinated people,” she said.

“This is expected, because even though the vaccine prevents some infections and many hospitalizations, it cannot prevent all of them.

“The Omicron variant has caused very high case counts across Canada and we can expect that in the Yukon. The goal remains to prevent severe outcomes and limit health system strain,” she added.

It’s strongly recommended that people who are fully vaccinated with a booster should avoid close contact with a confirmed case.

“Following the seven-day period of isolation, if no symptoms present, those contacts may leave isolation but should continue self-monitoring for seven more days because they may start experiencing symptoms of Omicron in that second seven-day period,” Elliott said.

Considering the Omicron variant, she noted, “transmission occurs when people are close to each other, but with Omicron it happens faster and to more people than with Delta.

“This is the time to keep gatherings limited to two households and small numbers and cancel any gatherings that are larger.”

A Whitehorse school confirmed a case of the virus last month.

“This is an urgent notice from the Department of Education for École Whitehorse Elementary School,” wrote Ryan Sikkes, an assistant deputy minister.

“Yukon Communicable Disease Control (YCDC) has confirmed a positive COVID-19 case affecting the Grade 2B class, and children who rode school bus route #11 or #25 on specific days.

“Letters from YCDC are attached to this email. They provide specific clinical direction for students and staff regarding who needs to self-isolate, who needs to be tested for COVID-19, and who needs to self-monitor for symptoms.”