An eighth case of COVID-19 has been found in one of the Yukon’s communities.

“We are in just a good position as we are with any of the Whitehorse cases, to date,” Dr. Brendan Hanley, the territory’s chief medical officer, told a media briefing Wednesday afternoon in Whitehorse.

The patient, who travelled internationally, is self-isolating and doing well at home, according to Hanley.

The number of recovered patients remains at four, and no cases have yet required treatment at a hospital.

To date, the Yukon has tested 794 people for COVID-19 with 767 negative results and 19 pending.

In response to a question about modelling in the Yukon, Hanley said the territory doesn’t have enough cases to elicit accurate data. Scenario modelling starts at 100 cases, he said.

“We are not even on the curve yet,” Hanley said.

Modelling is still “an active area of interest,” and a team is working to model how different scenarios, like travel restrictions increasing and businesses closing or re-opening, affect the trajectory of the virus.

Hanley is not revealing the name of the community affected by the COVID-19 case. This is in line with regular patient privacy rules, and officials will not be swayed by a public desire for information, the chief medical officer explained.

“We listen closely to input from the public and our leaders; however, our practices are not driven by public opinion,” Hanley said.

The case does not pose a risk to the community afflicted, because it is connected to travel and the patient self-isolated appropriately.

Hanley said he is concerned that the identification of a patient could lead to stigmatization, deterring future cases from coming forward for testing.

Local leaders have been informed of the case in their community, without the disclosure of the patient’s personal details. This information is shared with an understanding that it won’t be revealed.

“This is a conversation of trust, and it’s a conversation again that when leaders have an appropriate and very private heads-up, they are in a position to help to calm their people and be able to answer general questions,” Hanley said.

“If there is a breach (of privacy rules), it’s beyond my control. It’s a prerogative that someone might choose to have, based on individual conversations perhaps with the family.

“I’m not going to control, nor do I intend to control, the voice of a leader or the chief.”

Hanley added that he has provided local leaders with very little specific information, so it’s unlikely that information will be publicized.

If the individual or family of the patient chooses to disclose themselves, that is within their right, though “it may not be what our advice would be,” Hanley said.

The chief medical officer hopes to reassure Yukoners that if anyone is thought to be at risk of the virus, they will be contacted.

Hanley also reviewed the safety measures in place as they pertain to the coming long weekend.

“Who would have thought, a year ago, that we would be observing the much-loved long weekend of Easter in this peculiar way?” Hanley asked.

He urged Yukoners to get outside and exercise; use municipal playgrounds while properly supervising children; and visit friends, seniors and elders while taking extra distancing and hygiene precautions.

“They need your company,” Hanley said of spending time with seniors over the weekend.

“I want people to be outside and to be able to exercise and be social as much as they can, within the limits of the advice and the rules we have quite clearly laid out.”

People should not gather in groups larger than 10 people, he reminded Yukoners, and should keep gatherings “low-key” without excessive consumption of alcohol or recreational drugs. More information about safety guidelines can be found on yukon.ca.