Alleged Yukon vaccine queue jumpers test negative for COVID-19, lawyer says

The wealthy Vancouver couple who allegedly flew to the Yukon to jump the queue for a COVID-19 vaccination has reportedly tested negative for the virus.

Janet Vander Meer, a member of the White River First Nation and COVID-19 inter-agency lead said the couple’s lawyer provided her with documentation of the negative results on Saturday.

“People here are relieved that they had a negative test,” Vander Meer said in an email. “That does not change the completely inappropriate nature of their actions.”

Former Great Canadian Gaming CEO Rod Baker and his actor wife Ekatarina are accused of visiting the territory on Jan. 19 and breaking its 14-day quarantine period.

3:22 ‘I’m disgusted’ says Indigenous services minister after B.C. couple accused of flying to Yukon to jump vaccine queue

They then allegedly chartered a plane to the remote community of Beaver Creek, where territory officials had set up a mobile clinic to administer doses of the Moderna vaccine.

READ MORE: Great Canadian Gaming CEO, wife ticketed after allegedly flying to Yukon to get COVID-19 vaccine

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The pair are accused of posing as local workers to get the shot.

Officials acting on a tip tracked them down at the Whitehorse airport.

They have been charged under Yukon’s Civil Emergency Measures Act, and are due in court on May 4.

If convicted they could face six months in jail.

British Columbia health officials say the duo will also not be eligible for a second dose of vaccine until August.

The incident spurred outrage, particularly from the White River First Nation, which said the couple had put their vulnerable and remote community at risk of the virus.