BRAZILIAN VARIANT OF COVID-19 DETECTED IN YUKON

Yukon's chief medical officer of health said Wednesday the territory confirmed its first cases of a specific COVID-19 variant of concern. Speaking at a news conference in Whitehorse, Dr. Brendan Hanley, pictured, said tests Tuesday confirmed the P.1 variant, which is the strain first identified in Brazil. Hanley said the territory has recorded 76 COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic and all cases of the P.1 variant involve a family that travelled to Yukon this month and is now self-isolating. He said there's been no community spread. Hanley said the arrival of the P.1 variant is a concern, in part because there is little information about how the strain responds to the Moderna vaccine, administered to about 70 per cent of Yukon residents. He urged residents to continue to follow public health guidelines.