Yukon to open H1N1 treatment clinic

Yukon health-care workers are stepping up efforts to contain the spread of the H1N1 virus by opening a clinic in Whitehorse for people with severe flu-like symptoms.

The H1N1 triage clinic will open Friday at the Taiga Clinic on Elliot Street and will operate from2 to 8 p.m. PTdaily. Chief medical officer Dr. Brendan Hanley said people should only go there if they have severe flu-like symptoms that are worsening.

"That will not be a vaccination site. That is a flu treatment site," Hanley told reporters on Thursday.

"This is not for people to know whether they have the flu or not. This is for people who have flu-like symptoms, that means fever, cough and sore throat or muscle aches ... who either feel that they are getting worse or they can't cope at home or they have underlying medical conditions."

Hanley urged Yukoners to get the H1N1 vaccine, stay home if they are sick, and only seek medical attention if theirillness becomes more serious.

Girl in serious condition

The creation of a flu clinic comes as health officials confirmed three Yukon children have been hospitalized with swine flu, including a school-aged girl who was flown to hospital in Vancouver on Tuesday.

Hanley said the girl, who has underlying medical conditions, is in serious condition at a pediatric intensive care unit in B.C.

He said many children are staying home sick from school these days, but there are currently no plans to close schools in the territory.

Emergency wards and community health centres are also seeing high numbers of people seeking help for their flu-like symptoms, Hanley said, noting that 60 people went through Whitehorse General Hospital on Wednesday alone.

"For the large majority of cases, there's no need to come in for testing, and there's no need unless there are underlying medical conditions to be assessed, or unless there are symptoms of worsening illness such as shortness of breath," he said.

Backup plan for government

If swine flu cases lead to high absenteeism within the Yukon government, territoiral emergency officials say they have come up with a plan to maintain business as usual.

"Departments have business continuity plans in place now that will help ensure that they can continue to deliver the essential services that they are mandated to provide, in the case of people becoming ill [and] more and more people being away from work," said Carl Rumscheidt, H1N1 co-ordinator with the Emergency Measures Organization.

Rumscheidt said it is important to ensure that essential workers such as nurses, police offiers, highway road crews and teachers are replaced if they're are unable to work due to the flu.

The contingency plan also includes lending Yukon government employees to First Nations and municipal governments if those organizations experience flu-related worker shortages.

An estimated 4,000 Yukoners, orabout 12 per cent of the territory's population, havereceived the H1N1vaccine since aterritory-wideimmunizationcampaign started on Monday.

Hot-tubbing while you wait?

In the capital city of Whitehorse, there have been long lineups at the Canada Games Centre, where a vaccination clinic has been set up all this week and next week.

Some have reported waiting as long as three hours in line for their H1N1 and sesonal flu shots.

Staff will soon allow people in line for the vaccines to use the Canada Games Centre's recreational facilities while they wait, manager Art Manhire said.

"If you would like to go down and have a hot tub while you wait, you could do that. Or if you'd like go play with your kids down in the fieldhouse, that's an option for you as well, rather than just sitting in a waiting chair," Manhire said.

"Then we'll be able to call people's names, and hopefully encourage people to stick around so that they do actually get their innoculation."

Mahire said only those who register to get vaccinated will receive a number and an access wristband for the centre. Staff will then call out the number of whoever's next over the speaker system.

The vaccination clinic at the Canada Games Centre is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, then 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.

It will also be open next week from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Vaccination clinics are also open at other venues around Whitehorse, as well as in communities across the territory.