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No new COVID-19 cases, fourth person recovered

Dr. Brendan Hanley, chief medical officer, provided an update to COVID-19 measures in the territory to round off a week chock-full of announcements.

By Gabrielle Plonka on April 3, 2020

Dr. Brendan Hanley, chief medical officer, provided an update to COVID-19 measures in the territory to round off a week chock-full of announcements. 


The Yukon is still at six cases, with four now recovered and all affected “doing well at home.” 


There have now been 753 tests conducted in the territory, with 694 negative results and 53 pending.
The Yukon continues to evade community transmission, meaning cases that are not connected to a travel-related case or cannot be traced to a known cluster of cases. 


“That puts us in good shape for taking a breather again, this weekend,” Hanley said this afternoon.
Hanley clarified recommendations to those in self-isolation hoping to take part in outdoor activities. 
“You can go outside, as long as you have a safe way to get outside, so you don’t infringe on anyone else’s two-metre bubble,” Hanley said. 


Snowmobile rides, or other activities that may result in machinery breakdowns necessitating help, are not recommended. Outdoor activities at the ski club are also not recommended. 


“I will not be able to adjudicate every scenario, but the best question to ask is, ‘Is there any risk I might not be able to comply with safe spacing,” Hanley said. 


The chief medical officer said he has heard concern about the lack of traffic at the Whitehorse General Hospital’s emergency department, and clarified that Yukoners should still visit the hospital in emergencies. 


“I’ve seen descriptions of an eerie calm … I want to reassure people who would normally visit the emergency department that these are still safe places to come.” 


To protect rural communities, Hanley recommends that service providers engaging with those communities contact local governments before entering. A Yukon government team will be established to support this engagement. 


“This goes a long way to alleviating people’s worry,” Premier Sandy Silver said today.
Hanley also reiterated that safety guidelines are now posted on yukon.ca for critical service workers returning from travel. 


Both Hanley and Premier Sandy Silver reviewed the new enforceable laws for protection against COVID-19. Laws include mandated self-isolation after travel; a declaration that no COVID-19 symptoms are present while entering the territory and providing contact and destination information; bar closures and restaurants open for take-out only; dental visits limited to emergency; personal service businesses closed; and no gatherings of more than 10 people. 


Special provisions on these laws are in place for critical service providers, who must instead follow the guidelines provided by the Yukon government. 


Silver doubled down on the importance of following these laws. 


“We must continue to take this extremely seriously, we must operate with an abundance of caution,” Silver said. 


“These are not suggestions, these are the law; if you do not comply you will be subject to fines and possible jail time.” 


Silver said his government is taking a three-pronged approach to fight COVID-19: reducing the number of cases in Yukon or “flattening the curve” of new cases, taking precautions to avoid the overload of cases on the medical system and supporting the economy. 


Federal supports will be available to Yukoners starting on Monday, Silver said. This includes applying for the Canadian Response Benefit through the Canada Revenue Agency online portal. This fund will provide applicants with $500 per week for up to 16 weeks. 


A wage subsidy will also be available for Yukon visits and cover up to 75 per cent of salaries for businesses who have experienced a 30 per cent decline in revenue due to COVID-19. 


“Yukoners, I want to be crystal clear in saying this: stay home as much as possible,” Silver said. 


“We are all realizing now how much of a challenge that really is, but I need all Yukoners to take this seriously…. Staying home will literally save lives.” 


Silver recommended that Yukoners struggling with physical distancing requirements to reach out to the mental health support systems available on the government website.

Comments (20)

Up 11 Down 0

Yukon Cornelius on Apr 10, 2020 at 5:30 pm

@ Badeggs:

To demonstrate the serious nature of the discussion, a CDC White Paper states that Coronavirus has a doubling time of the number of infected persons of between 6 and 7 days. Assuming a serial interval of 6–9 days, the study calculated a median R0 (the basic interpersonal reproductive rate) value of 5.7 (with a 95% confidence interval: 3.8–8.9). In contrast, the Swine Flu (AKA Spanish Flu) which killed an estimated 20 - 50 million people in 1918 had an R0 of 2. Given the fact that Coronavirus is estimated as being 3 times as contagious as Swine (Spanish) Flu and given Coronavirus' average global Case Mortality Ratio of 21 per cent (the percentage of people hospitalized with COVID-19 disease who die from it), this is why global governments are shutting down their economies and ordering people to self-isolate.

SOURCE:
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/7/20-0282_article

Up 12 Down 0

Yukon Cornelius on Apr 10, 2020 at 5:26 pm

@ Badeggs:

Actually, according to the World Health Organization, it would be closer to: "Imagine civilization being toppled by an invisible bug in a bat's and pangolin's gut." as some of the first RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel tests revealed both bat and pangolin RNA.

SOURCE:
https://www.sciencealert.com/genome-analysis-of-the-coronavirus-suggests-two-viruses-may-have-combined

Up 0 Down 0

Badeggs on Apr 9, 2020 at 9:59 pm

In support of royalbash and Yukon Cornelius, I would like to offer this quote from a little known Yukon mystic: "Imagine civilization being toppled by an invisible bug in a bat's gut."

Up 17 Down 1

Yukon Cornelius on Apr 9, 2020 at 12:16 pm

@ Brian who wrote: "At the end of the day NOBODY knows what's really going to happen. You really shouldn't fear monger with cherry picked quotes from unreliable sources."

Actually, Brian 'some' of us know (with a high degree of certainty) what's likely to happen if people like you who are ignorant of both the scientific facts and global statistics regarding SARS-CoV-2 (Coronavirus) and COVID-19 disease are permitted to be the loudest voices in the room.

In a U.S. Center for Disease Control peer-reviewed White Paper scheduled to be published in July 2020, researchers found that Coronavirus has a doubling time of the number of infected persons of between 6 and 7 days. Assuming a serial interval of 6 – 9 days, the study calculated a median R0 (the basic interpersonal reproductive rate of Coronavirus) of 5.7 (with a 95% confidence interval: 3.8 – 8.9).

In contrast, the Swine Flu (AKA Spanish Flu) which killed an estimated 20 – 50 million people in 1918 had an R0 of 2.

Given the fact that Coronavirus is estimated as being 3 times as contagious as Swine (Spanish) Flu and given Coronavirus' average global Case Mortality Ratio of 21 per cent (the percentage of people hospitalized with COVID-19 disease who die from it), this is why global governments are shutting down their economies and ordering people to self-isolate during this airborne, global pandemic where there have been more than a few documented cases of people who have been declared 'cured' of COVID-19 and subsequently re-testing positive for Coronavirus - during which time period, they were contagious.

The people who survive airborne, global pandemics aren't those who follow the advice of those sitting in an armchair, but those who follow the advice of those with scientific and statistical credentials. To those who espouse to voice their 'opinions', save it for the office hockey pool.

SOURCE:
For confirmation of Case Mortality Ratio see 'Closed Cases', 'Cases which had an outcome' and 'Deaths' = 21 %:
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?utm_campaign=homeAdvegas1?

High Contagiousness and Rapid Spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2, Volume 26, Number 7—July 2020, Research

Steven Sanche1, Yen Ting Lin1, Chonggang Xu, Ethan Romero-Severson, Nick Hengartner, and Ruian KeComments to Author. Author affiliations: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/7/20-0282_article

Up 15 Down 3

Yukon Cornelius on Apr 8, 2020 at 12:27 pm

@ brian So is quoting peer-reviewed studies from Science Daily 'fear mongering' and 'cherry picking'. What does a Liberal YG shill earn these days? Are you paid by the comment, or by the hour? Are your wages covered by the bearded wonder's CERB?

In case you missed it the first time, the article reads:
In a new study, researchers found that half of the patients they treated for mild COVID-19 infection still had coronavirus for up to eight days after symptoms disappeared. The research letter was published online in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

In "Time Kinetics of Viral Clearance and Resolution of Symptoms in Novel Coronavirus Infection," Lixin Xie, MD, Lokesh Sharma, PhD, and co-authors report on a study of 16 patients with COVID-19, who were treated and released from the Treatment Center of PLA General Hospital in Beijing between January 28 and Feb. 9, 2020. Patients studied had a median age of 35.5 years.

Researchers collected samples from throat swabs taken from all patients on alternate days and analyzed. Patients were discharged after their recovery and confirmation of negative viral status by at least two consecutive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.

"The most significant finding from our study is that half of the patients kept shedding the virus even after resolution of their symptoms," said co-lead author Dr. Sharma, instructor of medicine, Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine. "More severe infections may have even longer shedding times."

SOURCE:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200327091234.htm

Up 1 Down 17

brian on Apr 7, 2020 at 4:12 pm

Yukon Cornelius... Did you even read the full article? At the bottom it states...
"Paul Hunter, an infectious diseases professor at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline that the cases were far more likely to be “reactivations” — or even just a sign of current testing being flawed.

“Personally, I think the most likely explanation is that the clearance samples were false negative,” Hunter told the site.
At the end of the day NOBODY knows what's really going to happen. You really shouldn't fear monger with cherry picked quotes from unreliable sources. The NY Post... C'mon

Up 19 Down 2

Yukon Cornelius on Apr 7, 2020 at 12:12 pm

@Max Mack:
You may want to explain that to the 51 South Koreans whom after being cleared of Coronavirus and recovering from COVID-19 disease, tested positive for Coronavirus after being declared 'cured'.

SOURCE:
https://nypost.com/2020/04/07/51-recovered-coronavirus-patients-test-positive-again-in-south-korea/

Up 12 Down 21

Max Mack on Apr 6, 2020 at 1:34 pm

@Yukon Cornelius and others
I'm not sure that being symptom-free and recovered are one and the same thing.
Also, note the very small sample size in the study you referenced. Also note this study has not been replicated. Further research is required.

My concern with statements like those made by royalbash is the underlying fear that these sorts of claims intensify.
The vast majority of infected people are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms. There is absolutely no cause for the panic that has been generated over this new virus and resultant disease. There may be people infected all around us and we would never know.

Up 25 Down 1

Yukon Cornelius on Apr 6, 2020 at 12:09 pm

@ Max Mack

Max Mack wrote: @royalbash You said: "People recovered from COVID-19 can still transmit the virus." Absolute nonsense. It's amazing to me that anybody gave you a thumbs up on this. Please provide evidence for your statement, because it flies in the face of everything known about viruses and how our bodies respond to infection (i.e. antibodies).'

Well, here's the evidence for 'royalbash's' statement:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200327091234.htm

In a new study, researchers found that half of the patients they treated for mild COVID-19 infection still had coronavirus for up to eight days after symptoms disappeared. The research letter was published online in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

In "Time Kinetics of Viral Clearance and Resolution of Symptoms in Novel Coronavirus Infection," Lixin Xie, MD, Lokesh Sharma, PhD, and co-authors report on a study of 16 patients with COVID-19, who were treated and released from the Treatment Center of PLA General Hospital in Beijing between January 28 and Feb. 9, 2020. Patients studied had a median age of 35.5 years.

Researchers collected samples from throat swabs taken from all patients on alternate days and analyzed. Patients were discharged after their recovery and confirmation of negative viral status by at least two consecutive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.

"The most significant finding from our study is that half of the patients kept shedding the virus even after resolution of their symptoms," said co-lead author Dr. Sharma, instructor of medicine, Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine. "More severe infections may have even longer shedding times."

SMH

Up 10 Down 1

Groucho d'North on Apr 6, 2020 at 11:38 am

@Max Mack
Could you provide qualified medical evidence to support your position?
This is a new situation for the virologists as well as the regular medical professionals. Much is being learned as this pandemic progresses. Remember too, that all people are not the same and some deal with infections better than others. There is still lots to be learned in the suppression of Covid-19.
Governments are loathe to say they don't know as they try to display calm and provide reassurance that they have a handle on the situation, when clearly they don't.
I doubt our Prime Minister could change a tire without lots of advice and assistance, so how does he expect to be regarded as an Oracle for explaining the very fringe of emerging medical technology? You want to know what the experts are saying, read their industry publications, all media- including the CBC are also playing catch-up in their reporting of the facts, or more properly, their version of those facts. Here are a couple links to the present state of the art: https://www.thelancet.com/ OR https://www.ama-assn.org/

Up 9 Down 1

Jonathan Colby on Apr 6, 2020 at 7:44 am

People who have had the virus, there is evidence that they can become reinfected.
We do not have a serological profile for this coronavirus, so we don't know what immunity looks like.

But no, if you had the virus, and are not reinfected, you cannot spread the virus. That is false. However, asymptomatic people are being shown to transmit, so you could be outwardly healthy and sick at the same time.

Up 6 Down 1

@MaxMac on Apr 5, 2020 at 7:29 pm

Here is an article from The American Thoracic Society which states, "Researchers found that half of the patients they treated for mild COVID-19 infection still had coronavirus for up to eight days after symptoms disappeared." https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200327091234.htm

Up 8 Down 1

More research on Apr 5, 2020 at 3:44 pm

Perhaps it would be a good idea for those of you who think you know everything do your research before tou comment https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/coronavirus-recovery-what-happens-after-covid19/

Up 14 Down 14

Max Mack on Apr 5, 2020 at 1:42 pm

@royalbash
You said: "People recovered from COVID-19 can still transmit the virus." Absolute nonsense. It's amazing to me that anybody gave you a thumbs up on this.
Please provide evidence for your statement, because it flies in the face of everything known about viruses and how our bodies respond to infection (i.e. antibodies).

Up 9 Down 14

The Spin Doctors on Apr 5, 2020 at 10:45 am

Dear royalbash: The politicians are not interested in facts. They remain steadfastly resolute in the manipulation of thought through the manipulation of emotion.

Dr. Hanley in his current role is a politician and therefore the facts matter less than their spin.
Wilf: You ain’t gotta clue... It is a medical fact that the 3rd leading cause of death in North America is medical error.

Up 11 Down 12

JC on Apr 4, 2020 at 5:21 pm

Royalbash. if a person has recovered from Covid19, wouldn't that mean he is clear of the virus? How could he be still carrying it? So, are you saying from the info you received, that once a person has become infected, they stay infected for life? And by the way, do like I did years ago, kick CBC out of your life. For a media outlet that gets one and quarter billion dollars a year of our taxes they still have a problem getting things right.

Up 25 Down 9

Moose101 on Apr 4, 2020 at 4:49 pm

Did you see Joe Sparling comment from Air North? Hanley didn’t even have the decency to contact Air North and let them know there was two infected people on their flight on March 14th so they could let their staff know who were in contact with these people . Now that is not right!!!

Up 21 Down 11

Wilf Carter on Apr 4, 2020 at 9:35 am

Folks the Doctors are doing a great job managing the virus situation.

Up 27 Down 3

Joanne Jowsey on Apr 4, 2020 at 6:26 am

The seniors need help - we struggle at best of times and now is harder! Impossible to get anything on sale as none left when we shop.

Up 17 Down 11

royalbash on Apr 3, 2020 at 8:25 pm

Dr Hanley does not appear to have seen the latest updates on CBC. People recovered from COVID-19 can still transmit the virus. People asymptomatic can transmit the virus. I recommend anyone reading this to contact Dr Hanley and ask the question. And check CBC on line. An American virologist was appalled that the Federal Minister for Health Dr Tam was not aware of it. This is the reason behind the massive spike, known as the silent transmitters. If a community transmission case surfaces you will know why. Singapore, one of the countries hard hit and recovering, is the source of this knowledge. I am more than willing to be proven wrong. And more than willing to receive scientific facts that this is not so.

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