One Yukoner has tested positive for COVID-19 and caught the virus in the territory, according to health officials.

“Today marks another pivotal moment in the still young history of COVID and the Yukon,” Dr. Brendan Hanley, chief medical officer, said Friday.

“This case is the first that has been locally acquired in the Yukon.”

Hanley announced the new case during a media briefing on Friday afternoon. The infected individual is recovering well, he said.

The individual recently travelled to Dawson City and may have been infectious in Whitehorse starting on July 27.

The person was tested at the Respiratory Assessment Centre this week and the positive result was received this morning.

Hanley said the person was likely infected in Whitehorse or Dawson City. There is a suspected “chain of transmission” between the new case and the visitors who tested positive after returning home from a trip to the Yukon last week.

Contact tracing is currently underway.

Yukoners who travelled to Dawson City between July 20 and today are advised to self monitor for any symptoms of COVID-19.

Dawson City residents experiencing even mild symptoms of the disease are asked to get tested at the hospital or health centre.

There are two business advisories in Whitehorse related to the new case.

People who visited Superstore on Aug. 1 between 8 and 9 a.m. or attended the 10:30 Sunday service at Sacred Heart Cathedral on Aug. 2 are also being asked to monitor for symptoms.

The Yukon government lists symptoms of COVID-19 as including fever; chills; cough; difficulty breathing; shortness of breath; runny nose; sore throat; loss of sense of taste or smell; headache; fatigue; loss of appetite; nausea and vomiting; diarrhea; and muscle aches.

“Anyone who develops any of these symptoms, regardless of how mild, should self-isolate immediately and arrange for testing,” a government press release stated on Friday afternoon.

People experiencing symptoms who were at Superstore or Sacred Heart should call the Yukon Communicable Disease Centre directly. Dawson City residents are advised to call the hospital directly for testing over the weekend.

Health officials are prepared to discover more positive contacts related to this case.

“I’m not expecting anything right now, but we are doing the investigation,” Hanley said. 

Hanley said the introduction of a new case won’t change the Yukon’s status in its reopening plan. There won’t be changes to border restrictions, testing won’t be required to enter the Yukon and mask use won’t become mandatory, for the time being.

Hanley said new cases were expected once border restrictions were relaxed, and the Yukon is well poised to handle them.

“We can panic, we can assign blame, we can regret any decisions made to date or we can decide this is another COVID hurdle to overcome which, I assure you, we will,” Hanley said.