Photo by Whitehorse Star
Dr. Catherine Elliott
COVID rules relaxation will proceed
The Yukon government and public health officials don’t seem to be wavering from their plan to continue relaxing COVID-19 health restrictions despite an uptick in numbers.
The Yukon government and public health officials don’t seem to be wavering from their plan to continue relaxing COVID-19 health restrictions despite an uptick in numbers.
The acting chief medical officer of health, Dr. Catherine Elliott, provided the Star with the following statement this morning.
“Though we are moving out of the worst of the Omicron wave, it is clear from the numbers you see today that the pandemic is not over,” she said.
“There is still a lot of case activity. We see this in the indicators: case counts, per cent positivity and the number of people who are staying home because they have symptoms and/or a rapid test.
“However, we also know that the time has come to start easing some of our public health measures, and asking people to use their own discretion as we move toward a new kind of normal.”
Elliott added, “As spring break continues, I encourage all Yukoners to find creative ways to enjoy this beautiful time of year and to keep your gatherings and activities low-risk – to reduce the chance that you and others get sick.”
The numbers posted on the government’s COVID-19 Dashboard on Friday show 65 active cases and nine new cases overnight.
The testing positivity rate, which is a crucial indicator, remained very high at 40.5 per cent, down from nearly 44 per cent last week.
Numbers from the weekend and today won’t be available until late this afternoon.
The mask mandate and the vaccine passports are due to be lifted Friday.
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Comments (34)
Up 1 Down 0
Jeff Bikaboom on Mar 18, 2022 at 3:10 pm
"The term for what he is doing is 'well poisoning'".
Thanks, I like that. I was thinking about something similar recently but more along the lines of when a proper conclusion is denied. 'Slothful induction' or 'appeal to coincidence' came to mind, but 'Poisoning of the well' works well in this situation. I see it used in politics, so of course this would be a tactic of a politically minded person.
To add to my list of possible reasons contributing to the slight relaxation of covid rules, it is worth expanding on the rise in deaths. Not a fun topic but it needs mentioned.
Yukon Monthly Statistical Review for February 2022 came out today.
https://yukon.ca/en/yukon-monthly-statistical-review-february-2022
Page 2 has deaths (deaths are always a month behind). January's deaths in Yukon were 39. Lets compare that to previous years.
Jan 2021 27 deaths = 44% increase Jan 2022 vs Jan 2021
Jan 2020 18 deaths = 117% increase Jan 2022 vs Jan 2020
Jan 2019 16 deaths = 144% increase Jan 2022 vs Jan 2019
Jan 2018 11 deaths = 255% increase Jan 2022 vs Jan 2018
From 2018 to 2022 the population increased by 3500, 8%, so some increase is expected. Jan 2018 does seem like an anomaly with it's low number, so it can probably be ignored.
Up 2 Down 1
Anonymous on Mar 18, 2022 at 12:24 pm
@Jeff
"I fail to see the connection to pizza parlors and chemtrails. Let us not distract from the 9 other current news stories I referenced, including those straight from the CDC."
The term for what he is doing is 'well poisoning'. This is when adverse information about a target is preemptively presented to an audience, with the intention of discrediting or ridiculing something that the target person is about to say. "Before you listen to my opponent, may I remind you that they believe in chemtrails etc."
Up 1 Down 3
Roy on Mar 18, 2022 at 12:27 am
@anonymous
List the 1200+ vaccine “side effects” then if you want to talk about them. That’s what I’m responding to. The fact that anything from myocarditis (which is more common in covid sufferers then it is in the vaccinated) down to bad breath can and will be listed as a “side effect”.
So go ahead and look at the list of 1200. Again either you are a simpleton if you think there truly are 1200 side effects to the vaccine or you are a troll who knows that there isn’t that many but is spreading that lie to stoke fear.
Up 7 Down 1
Jeff Bikaboom on Mar 17, 2022 at 5:38 pm
@ Roy
You seem upset, I hope you are OK, I did not mean to trigger you. Apologies.
Tylenol has 12 side effects ranging from nausea to rash, and no "fatal outcomes that I came across. That's 100 times less than Pfizer. I appreciate Tylenol publishing them, I don't think it required a court order for them to do so.
The reason I referenced that one topic you seemed to like so much, is the saying "you shall be judged by the company you keep". In the case of the "philanthropist" Bill Gates, a better one might be "he that lieth with dogs riseth with fleas". Bill is following the PR model John D. Rockefeller used to appear as a philanthropist, which is fitting because Gates is promoting 'Rockefeller Medicine'.
I fail to see the connection to pizza parlors and chemtrails. Let us not distract from the 9 other current news stories I referenced, including those straight from the CDC.
Up 7 Down 3
Liberalism Kills! on Mar 17, 2022 at 4:15 pm
Dear Roy - I do not understand half of what you wrote. You sound like you are having a seizure induced by the realization that your belief system is unraveling your own sanity, seizing, kicking, sputtering to its own end… Insanity, it is the resting place of Liberalism from which it occasionally rises to throw its dis-temperate, ill-will around.
Liberalism is known to be associated with greater rates of mental ill-health, addictions, and violence. These are empirical and phenomenological facts. And voila - After 5-7 years of Liberal rule we have a mental health epidemic, skyrocketing substance abuse, impulse related disorders, and real declines in executive processes in our young people…
So, Roy, you have fixed nothing. You did what any politically affiliated asshat would do - I know you are but what am I’isms… I would critically challenge your own thinking by engaging in conversation, doing research, and take yourself out of the equation… Liberalism deludes before it kills!
Up 11 Down 5
Anonymous on Mar 17, 2022 at 1:05 pm
Roy, Tylenol and Advil don't cause myocarditis. You're deflecting. Go get your 4th booster shot since your last one is probably expired, which technically means you're unvaccinated (the horror).
Up 12 Down 1
T on Mar 17, 2022 at 3:00 am
Nice work Thoughtpolice, thanks for the smoking gun (do you see what I did there?)
"Procedure masks are also commonly referred to as surgical masks. These masks are designed to filter air coming out of the wearer’s mouth and do not provide a good seal. As a result, procedure masks tend to be no more effective than commonly available paper dust masks, which are designed to filter out larger particles, such as dust created by sanding, and offer little protection from fine particles in smoke."
"These types of masks may actually be detrimental, giving the wearers a false sense of security and encouraging them to increase their physical activity and time outdoors. Therefore it is imperative that procedure masks not be confused with respirator masks, such as N95s."
-Dr. Catherine Elliot
Chief Medical Officer of Destroying My Mental Health
Up 5 Down 6
Roy on Mar 16, 2022 at 7:57 pm
@liberalism kills
“ Dear Roy - The restriction of civil liberties imposed by Conservative leaders such as Jason Kenney
(Alberta), Scott Moe (Saskatchewan), Heather Stefanson (Manitoba), Doug Ford (Ontario), Blaine Higgs (New Brunswick), Dennis King (PEI), Tim Houston (Nova Scotia) - all supported at the federal level by the federal
Conservatives - using a pandemic narrative was not the objective but rather the distraction to the objective which was the consolidation of economic and political power. But that’s okay there Roy you just continue to chase that little red light around the room there bud…”
I fixed your post. You’re welcome. Did I miss anyone? That’s a lot of right wing leaders that are all in on helping the liberals do a power grab…hmmm it’s almost like your crackpot fringe conspiracy falls apart with even the slightest bit of examination.
But keeping pretending you’re fighting the good fight up here in this tiny corner of the country. Ignore the fact that all parties were on board. It’s a good hobby you have pretending you’re in some special battle. Keeps your mind occupied which is probably best for your health and the public’s safety.
Up 4 Down 11
Roy on Mar 16, 2022 at 7:46 pm
@Jeff B
Google “it’s always sunny conspiracy” and look at the photo - that is your post.
Good job thing Epstein in there. No mention of Hillary, pizza parlors, chemtrails for population control, not 9/11.
Keep going. You can do better.
And post up the side effects of Advil and Tylenol - you know those lists have to include every symptom someone has after vaccination in case they later determine an association - so if someone gets an itchy ankle two days after the vaccine, or a headache that they would have gotten anyway - all that gets reported. Simpletons take it to mean that it’s all caused by the vaccine. Disingenuous trolls know that’s not what it means but promote it to stoke fear.
Which one of those two are you?
Up 16 Down 7
Liberalism Kills! on Mar 16, 2022 at 5:43 pm
I agree with the Thoughtpolice - The acceptance of masking was purely symbolic of one’s obeisance. Without proper fit, seal, and filtration their use is delusional and the enforcement of such measures, psychopathological - They are lying to you, to us.
Have you ever worn your mask and felt your own breath across your eyeballs, had your glasses fog up when entering a store? You know what - Conduct an experiment right now if you smoke - inhale, put your mask on, and blow smoke - See where it goes?
But you know what the actual function of the mask is, your compliance. The more things you get people to do for you the more likely they are to continue to do them because they have invested in your ideology - They do not want to believe they have been duped. These children having given so many years of their lives listening to the irrationality of the Liberal impulse are more likely to remain loyal to the Liberal brand because they do not want to face the fact that they are wrong, that they have been wronged!
Cognitive dissonance is Liberal stratagem 101.
Up 0 Down 0
Thoughtpolice on Mar 16, 2022 at 12:48 pm
There appears to be an issue with the link I shared, the link is as follows:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266386245_Evidence_Review_Using_masks_to_protect_public_health_during_wildfire_smoke_events
Up 7 Down 1
Thoughtpolice on Mar 16, 2022 at 9:32 am
@ Apex Parasite,
You are absolutely correct. Using fractions to determine test positivity rate is ridiculous. Test positivity rate= number of covid tests that come out positive divided by the number of tests done. It’s a problem using this method considering how few tests are now being done.
“Test positivity is not a direct measure of new infections appearing in a population. It’s a ratio, and a ratio increases in two ways: Either when the numerator (in this case, the number of positive tests) rises; or when the denominator (in this case the number of tests performed) falls. Since the number of tests varies from place to place and over time, the test positivity may go up or down even when there is no change at all in disease spread.”
https://www.wired.com/story/test-positivity-is-a-bad-way-to-measure-covids-spread/
Up 21 Down 5
Thoughtpolice on Mar 16, 2022 at 7:34 am
This article needs updating. Yesterday an email was sent out to Whitehorse parents saying that children will still be required to wear masks in school once mask mandates are lifted.
I’d love to read the studies that the so called Yukon health officials used to come up with this decision.
In fact, the Yukon’s acting chief medical officer of health wrote a paper about wearing N95 masks (notice- not cloth, not surgical masks) to protect BC residents from wildfire smoke particulate. (If you find yourself asking why wildfire smoke is relevant, it’s because the aerosolized SARScov2 particles are much smaller than wildfire smoke particulate) Elliot and co authors stated that the use of N95s could be beneficial, *however* not without first getting a proper fit test. She then went on to say that mask use in children is pointless because masks don’t fit their faces properly thus no seal which makes them completely ineffective. I am baffled as to why this same person would advocate for useless cloth and surgical masks, especially for children. She knows it’s anti science and her paper proves it.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266386245_Evidence_Review_Using_masks_to_protect_public_health_during_wildfire_smoke_events
In my opinion, masking healthy children is criminal. It’s time for parents to come together to stop the abuse of healthy children, perhaps it’s time for parents to start protesting outside Catherine Elliott’s office until she is willing to rectify this horrible decision.
Up 18 Down 5
Liberalism Kills! on Mar 15, 2022 at 10:16 pm
Dear Roy - The restriction of civil liberties using a pandemic narrative was not the objective but rather the distraction to the objective which was the consolidation of economic and political power. But that’s okay there Roy you just continue to chase that little red light around the room there bud…
Up 23 Down 3
Jeff Bikaboom on Mar 15, 2022 at 9:00 pm
Restrictions, mandates, and passports can be brought back at any time without warning. Unvaccinated still cannot fly, leave the country, or work for the federal government or federally regulated industries.
Possible things that could have contributed to the relaxing of restrictions:
Civil unrest, and the desire of those pushing mandates to keep their jobs.
A FOIA request revealed Biden paid 1 billion to corporate media to push vaccines. Add this to the billions the pharmaceutical companies gave, and continue to give, for advertising.
Pfizer data that was pried out of their hands by legal means, that they wanted to release in 75 years, revealed over 1291 side effects of the vaccine. There are also "fatal outcomes", and over 100,000 adverse events I won't get into. Knowing this full well, the government still pushed it onto the public as safe and effective, and the lives of those who refused it have been ruined for two years.
The CDC admitted there is a problem with the PCR test as a means to "detect the virus". They admit they did not have a specimen of SARS-CoV-2 when they concocted the test. They made a test for a virus they didn't have. See 'SARS-CoV-2 Reference Panel Comparative Data' at fda.gov
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel fumbled when asked why COVID-19 was found to contain a gene sequence patented by his company three years before the pandemic.
Melinda Gates has been quite vocal about Bill's ties to Epstein who was into eugenics, among other things. This is the same Bill that has been involved in vaccinating the entire planet.
Explosive infection rates in places with high vaccination rates. Most recently New Zealand.
Fauci has all but disappeared. There could soon be an amendment to eliminate his position entirely, in part due to his suppression of early treatments.
All cause mortality has increased by 25 to 40 percent in countries all over the world, and in the Yukon. Heart attacks and strokes have increased all over the world. Even Mrs Bieber, who is 25 years old, just had a stroke.
Johnson & Johnson, the maker of one of the safe and effective vaccines, and three major distributors finalized the 26 billion dollar settlement over their role in the opioid addiction crisis. Walmart is likely one of the distributors.
Restrictions are being relaxed because the jig is up. It has been for a while. The damage done is undeniable. How did it get this far? Was it corruption, incompetence, fear, or malice? The power grab is far from over, it is simply transitioning to economics. We have digital IDs, digital currencies, and inflation to fend off next. Let's not forget, the discrimination for unvaccinated is not over, it's just mildly reduced. My wife's job is gone from her forever, and she is unable to visit her home country to see her family, just because she doesn't want to take an experimental series of treatments with 1291 side effects, that doesn't stop transmission, for a virus she has zero risk from.
Up 7 Down 24
Sickened on Mar 15, 2022 at 5:15 pm
With the pandemic I really thought just maybe we could have come out of a nightmare with more compassion for each other.
I guess that those rose colored glasses are off.
I find my stomach turns when I see pick up trucks flying my flag.
They demonstrate to me that we have become far more concerned with our personal freedom than that of our community. We are unable to appreciate what our government does for us and the daily Freedoms we enjoy every day in our democracy.
Because this is a democracy they can keep whining about freedom and all the scientifically measures that were put in place to protect them.
If they have the time and energy to spend about the pitfalls of our country maybe they should look beyond Canada. Would they enjoy the same Freedoms if they lived in Russia?
Unless you fully support what it means to be Canadian please take down your flags.
Up 13 Down 46
Roy on Mar 15, 2022 at 2:52 pm
This is counter to everything the tinfoil hat fringe says would happen. They said this was a never ending liberal power grab (despite the fact that conservative led provinces had the same restrictions and mandates - that part gets ignored as it doesn’t fit the fringe’s narrative)
Will the fringe reflect on how they were wrong? Nope - not based on the comments here - now they’re predicting these restrictions are just on hold until the next election is over.
But I have to give them kudos though - at least you’re admitting that the liberals will win the next election.
You’ll have to wait many years though - the right wing hasn’t won a Yukon election nor a federal election in some time. And it’s years to go until the next time you can infight amongst yourselves and hand another win to the liberal/NDP (who are laughing at the right constantly fracturing apart and losing elections - they don’t mind sharing the power while the conservatives try to decide how to attract the far right without appearing racist).
Up 6 Down 6
Matthew on Mar 15, 2022 at 2:24 pm
Hey @BonanzaJoe I was thinking the exact same thing! Haha classic..
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Apex Parasite on Mar 15, 2022 at 1:25 pm
@edie
It is a win. It's a win for critical thinking which was sorely lacking as the government and some others took everything pfizer and moderna offered as truth. Then the truth changed and shifted and morphed to suit the real truth. The vax did not prevent you from getting covid and the vaxxed carry the virus the same as the unvaxxed, yet the unvaxxed are still being discriminated against.
The authorities tell us the virus can be killed with simple soap and water yet nobody told us that if you also wash out your sinuses and mouth you can reduce your viral loading and lower your chances of spreading the virus. Nope....only a mask will suffice and only the vax can save you. The same vax that went from a savior status to simply one of a few ways you can keep from getting too sick and lessen your chances of hospitalization. Yet the vaxxers refuse to acknowledge any of it. The vax is the light and the one true way.
There was never any mitigating advice in place for if you do get the virus. Simply isolate and hope you don't die. Lock yourself away and hope for the best. Arguably there are and were a number of options for mitigating the effects of having covid but nothing from authorities except the shape shifting "vaccine". Haven't you wondered as the vax went from "this will stop the virus" to "this will lessen the effects of the virus"?
People were lied to and taken advantage of. The vaccine made claims that were false. Simple measures were ignored as the vaccine was sold as the only answer....to everything? I'm still hopeful that there are some major class actions over it all.
Now that the damage is done it will continue to impact locals as mining camps will adhere to the vaxxed only status for employees even though it is very, very clear the vaccines did not keep pace with the variants and the vaxxed carry the virus the same as the unvaxxed. Why is this so hard for people to admit? The vaxxed carry the virus. The unvaxxed carry the virus. Everybody is capable of carrying the virus yet the vaxx for some represents a miracle and our only chance of survival.
Your comment reeks of intolerance and derision even though you could just as easily be wrong as right in your staunch admonitions. But you pick a side with no way to be knowledgeable in the topic at hand other than the what the media / "authorities" present, yet you have obviously taken a firm stance without any real knowledge of the ground.
The only thing the vax is a miracle for is to make big pharma miraculously rich.
Up 46 Down 15
Matthew on Mar 15, 2022 at 11:33 am
It's funny, the liberals claim to follow the science.. how ever, when you ask them to show you, they can't, because it doesn't exist! Only in their heads.. I guess they are following Pfizer right to the bank though..
Up 39 Down 13
Mitch Holder on Mar 15, 2022 at 10:35 am
If Canada healthcare and Service Canada were not bloated bureaucratic oligarchies, this would have been done 6 months to a year ago. She and Hanson claim to be doctors, but all we see is politicians and administrators. The real pandemic is going to persist for a long time, it is called classism.
Up 54 Down 13
Anonymous on Mar 14, 2022 at 10:22 pm
I still can't get on a plane to fly out to camp for work. Thanks for nothing Dr. Elliot.
Up 20 Down 10
Nell Fenwick on Mar 14, 2022 at 8:05 pm
Lots of Covid articles are attributed only to the Star. It's a good move since staff writers can't be proud of certifying the nonsense of health officials.
Up 43 Down 9
Norht_of_60 on Mar 14, 2022 at 7:14 pm
@BonfireJim Is someone preventing you from wearing a mask and restricting yourself as much as you want to? Maybe concentrate on controlling your own life instead of trying to control the lives of others.
Up 39 Down 13
Juniper Jackson on Mar 14, 2022 at 6:31 pm
Liberty.. oh yeah? LOLOLOLOL
The 'pandemic' revealed quite a lot about all of us. It brought out the worst in some of us...the worst fears, my child..the worst hates, my drunken neighbor has more people in his house than is allowed for Thanksgiving, our worst distrusts..we've been friends for 37 years, don't come near me. The worst nonsense, Teresa Tam "She recommends couples skip kissing and avoid “face-to-face contact or closeness” during sex, or “consider using a mask that covers the nose and mouth.”While obviously the sexual activity with the lowest risk “involves yourself alone,” Good Lord, how did she get that job?
I believe that there will be an election called, and if the Liberals are elected, they will immediately lock us down again. It's not part of the Liberal philosophy to give up any shred of power.
However, for the brief time we are free to live (within the law, most of us have long started to live outside the law). I hope everyone does exactly as they want..wear a mask? don't ..go out? don't.. have a home party? or don't.. We should have had choice all along. Enjoy it while it lasts.
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Edie rue on Mar 14, 2022 at 6:27 pm
The only sad thing about this is those collection of horn blowing, flag waving, antivax trucker bunch will chalk this up as a win. Yet, anyone with half a brain will realize it had nothing to do with them and their bullying. So what will they blow their horns about now? Timmy’s changed their lid colour, maybe that?
Up 28 Down 13
bonanzajoe on Mar 14, 2022 at 5:28 pm
The goose laying the golden eggs. That's what it's all about with Moderna, Pizer, JJ and all the others inventing improperly tested vaccines.
Up 23 Down 6
bonanzajoe on Mar 14, 2022 at 5:25 pm
BonfireJim. Yukon Liberal, is that you? You old hound dog you.
Up 102 Down 65
Gary on Mar 14, 2022 at 3:19 pm
Oh my God 9 more people got a seasonal flu!
Up 89 Down 50
Snowball on Mar 14, 2022 at 2:57 pm
Finely they follow suit when the Yukon should of been the first to the lift the mandates.
Up 86 Down 21
Apex Parasite on Mar 14, 2022 at 2:56 pm
"positivity rate"
Can't help but feel that has to be a hopelessly inaccurate number considering. We've stopped keeping track of infections on many fronts so how do they presume so come up with an active case count? Who really even tests anymore? Is it a cold? Is it covid? Who can know? Who is reporting to whom when they are staying home because they feel unwell? Maybe i don't understand how the case counts and positivity rates work but having a hard time imagining how you can have accurate stats when you're not getting all the data.
Now seeing moderna schlepping the vax with an advertising TV campaign which a looks very "if you love your family....." you'll buy our s*it.
Seems like we've witnessed a near miss where a corp came so close to grabbing the brass it's not even funny. Can you imagine the money in a global vaccination program that requires boosters every two or three months?
Up 69 Down 18
Delusions of grandeur! on Mar 14, 2022 at 2:45 pm
Shhh! Get out of politics and go help the overburdened healthcare system. It’s a mess, self imposed albeit, but still a mess. Awash with visions of grandeur.
Up 105 Down 57
Richard Smith on Mar 14, 2022 at 2:39 pm
It's time to let those unvaccinated return to their jobs with full compensation also.
It was a merciless mistake to take away their employments, with all the grief and family disruptions, knowing what we know now about how covid was spread and the ineffectness of the vaccines.
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BonfireJim on Mar 14, 2022 at 2:20 pm
I think it's too early, while we have so many cases. The CMOH is clearly bowing to the convoy protestors and not listening to the science. I thought we were taught at a young age that throwing temper tantrums is not the way to get things. I guess the overly coddled never got that message.