The Yukon government spent approximately $1.4 million on its COVID-19 response in the first month of the pandemic, according to a supplementary budget breakdown.

Health Minister Pauline Frost presented a breakdown of expenses in the 2019-20 fiscal year on Monday. It shows COVID-19 spending up to March 31.

The Yukon began to see the first effects of the pandemic last March, with lockdown measures coming into play that month. The territory saw its first cases of COVID-19 on March 22.

In the first month of the pandemic, $630,000 was spent on licensed child care. This was to provide child care to essential workers and ensure that licensed child care centres could remain open, according to the document tabled on Monday.

The Health Emergency Operations Centre, Respiratory Assessment Centre and self-isolation facility at the Coast High Country Inn cost $262,000.

COVID-19 measures in continuing care homes cost $255,000. This was for staffing and appropriate supports for residents.

The Yukon Hospital Corp. was paid $170,000 to support “initial operation changes and enhancements” for hospitals.

The office of the chief medical officer, Dr. Brendan Hanley, was paid $37,000 for higher staffing and program expenses.

Social services staff at the Emergency Coordination Centre cost $23,900.

Extra staff and overtime pay at Yukon Communicable Disease Control and Environmental Health Services each cost $9,635 and $9,780 respectively.

The department boosted its budget by $5.2 million in the third supplementary estimate, for total spending of $447 million.

The document tabled by Frost on Monday explains that the department saw increased spending due to the pandemic.

There was also an expenditure of $1.3 million for Insured Health Services. This is due to a “substantial growth in the number of inpatient days billed for Yukoners treated in B.C. hospitals” last year.

There were also “significantly more individuals” at the Whitehorse Emergency Shelter, costing $800,000. 

See more COVID-19 coverage.