It looks as if the Yukon government and public health officials may have work to do to clarify some of their COVID-19 policies with the public.

Earlier this week, a post on social media regarding self-isolation policies provoked more than 100 comments – many of them quite contradictory.

Here’s a selection of those comments.

One person said: “I asked some questions a few months back to officer in the airport. He was like, you can do whatever you want as long as you don’t come in another human contact or you can’t visit places where there are chances of people coming from different bubbles like restaurants.”

That provoked a lively discussion.

“That’s not true. I’m currently in quarantine as we traveled for medical and was told that we’re unable to leave our home besides going for a walk within our bubble,” one person said.

Another person chipped in with “you’re allowed to leave for essential if you have no other options.”

Yet another person responded to that statement with “Are you sure? I was told we’re not allowed to leave.”

More comments followed debating exactly what people can do while they are self-isolating.

“I just finished quarantine and they don’t want you driving unless it’s essential. They do not want you to drive somewhere and go for a walk or a ski, They said it’s in case there was an accident or a breakdown. It’s to prevent coming into contact with paramedics or needing to get a ride. They (public health officials) write to me in CAPITALS do not leave your house.”

“I don’t think you can drive anywhere during a quarantine,” another person chipped in.

Yet another person said, “I’m in quarantine now and the COVID line told me I can order groceries online and go pick it up via parking lot pick up.”

Equally puzzling was the fact that many of the people commenting were citing what they had found on the government website or what they had allegedly been told by government officials.

Even more startling was this comment.

“I was told by them (government officials) I could self-isolate in my home with my roommate and my roommate didn’t have to self-isolate,” one woman wrote.

When that information was provided to government officials via a link to the conversation, Aisha Montgomery, the director of communications for the Department of Community Services, staunchly defended the government’s approach – and dismissed the confusion demonstrated in the discussion.

“I see a fair number of people on this thread re-iterating the right place to get the most current and correct information and sharing the right information,” she said.

Montgomery also said the government is monitoring social media to keep apprised of public sentiment.

“Yes, some of my colleagues within YG are tracking social media and posting the link to http://Yukon.ca to steer people in the right direction where possible,” Montgomery said.

“However we may not be able to track and reach all channels and all threads as I’m sure you can appreciate.

“Yukon is in a good place right now with no active cases and we see high rates of compliance with self-isolation upon entry to the territory, which means the vast majority of people are getting the right information and following the rules.”

During their weekly COVID-19 briefing Wednesday afternoon, Premier Sandy Silver and the medical officer of health, Dr. Brendan Hanley, said they were confident the government is providing the best information possible as well, despite the anecdotal evidence to the contrary.

Both men said best efforts are made to keep the information up-to-date on the government website. That information has changed on a regular basis, which makes it more challenging to communicate it to the public clearly, they said.

“If we see a problem or something to be addressed, we will look at it,” Hanley said.