The renewed declaration of a state of emergency over the swiftly-rising COVID-19 breakout in the Yukon dominated the legislature Tuesday.

Government officials sparred with the opposition parties over the issue, although no one disputed the need for the declaration.

Community Services Minister Richard Mostyn provided a ministerial statement on the declaration.

“Between Friday and Monday, the acting chief medical officer of health reported more than 80 cases of COVID-19. We now have more than 169 active cases in the Yukon,” Mostyn told the house.

“We also have widespread and untraceable community transmission in Whitehorse. To respond to this deeply troubling COVID-19 surge — the Yukon’s second wave — our government has declared a state of emergency under the Civil Emergency Measures Act.

“We took this action less than 20 hours after cabinet received the latest recommendations from the acting chief medical officer of health,” the minister added.

“If we have learned anything through the last 20 months of this pandemic, it is that we must listen to the best science from the public health professionals. We must put the health of the greater community before the self-interests of the few.”

Too many people are falling sick, Mostyn said.

“Too many unvaccinated people are falling gravely ill. Our medical system is being strained by this unprecedented spike in cases. Our territory is at risk, and we have to act quickly.”

Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon said “we share in the concern and disappointment that the minister has expressed with the dramatic rise in COVID case numbers in the Yukon.

“We are particularly concerned about the rising case numbers among students in Yukon schools and the impact that this is having on classes.”

“As such, we recognize that the government needs to act, and we support the restoration of the state of emergency to allow for the installation of new public health measures,” Dixon said.

“Our thoughts are with all Yukoners who are ill and those who are dealing with exposure notices, especially our youth. It is truly unfortunate that we are back where we are.

“We strongly urge all Yukoners to follow the guidelines as set out by the acting chief medical officer of health, including practising the ‘safe six’ and wearing a mask whenever you are in an indoor public place.”

Dixon also urged the government to make public all recommendations and advice from Dr. Catherine Elliott.

“We would like the government to share more information and data about our current caseloads with Yukoners, as well as provide more frequent updates about the capacity of our hospitals and, in particular, ICU beds.”

Yukoners have many questions, Dixon told the Liberal government.

“Those include what supports are in place for parents who have to stay home with kids who are missing school and what supports are in place for small businesses affected by the restrictions that have been put in place. Many businesses have told us that they are waiting for direction about how the proof of vaccination process will work and what it means for their staff.”

NDP Leader Kate White also weighed in.

“For the last 20 months, there has been one critical lesson that I hope we have all learned, and that is the importance of clear, concise communication,” she said.

“Why was this important decision shared in an online press release at 7:42 p.m. on a Monday night? Why wasn’t there a press conference held where media could ask questions, ensuring that these points would be shared on the radio, in print form, and online (Monday) night and first thing this morning?

“The Yukon NDP supports these new measures, but we, like many others, wish that we hadn’t gotten to this point of needing to declare an emergency,” White added.

“For weeks, the Yukon NDP have asked questions about why the Yukon was, at first, one of only two jurisdictions in Canada without a mask mandate.

“ ... We were told that they were following the science and the recommendations of the CMOH, and often we were told that we were wrong ... We are relieved to know that masking has now been brought back.”

Many businesses have questions about how they are supposed to validate a person’s vaccine status and where they land on the designated settings list, White noted.

“They have questions about resources, and now, I guess, with the shorter timeline, they will have questions about additional help — all valid questions.

“We have heard from parents urging the government to make rapid testing available in schools. We hope that, in the coming days, they will do just that.”

As recipients of government funding, the NDP leader asked, “will daycares be required to ensure that all their staff are fully vaccinated, including boosters as these are made available?”

Many Yukoners have been asking that more detailed data be made publicly available on the yukon.ca website, White pointed out.

“Will the government commit to publishing data that includes hospitalizations, ICU admissions, by vaccination status and age?”

Mostyn replied that “our pandemic response — our Liberal government’s pandemic response — has always been consistent. We have followed the science.

“When we received the evidence, the recommendations, and the notification from the chief medical officer of health on Sunday, this caucus worked very hard to start to understand what was asked of us and to take action,” Mostyn said.

“Within 20 hours, we decided, looking at all the options available to us, on the action that we needed to take to make Yukoners safe.

“ ... We came to that decision late last night and, to (White’s) point, immediately issued the news release to the public.”