B.C.’s top doctor remains hesitant to say for certain when the province could move into Phase 3 of its reopening plan.

Dr. Bonnie Henry has previously said the province is on track to ease more restrictions later this month, as the number of COVID-19 cases remains relatively low.

“So we are now in Week 3, so the second incubation period and if things continue they way we are seeing, by the end of this incubation period, we should be in a good place to start moving into the next phase,” Henry said. “But of course, much depends on what we see day to day.”

While announcing 30 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, Henry gave updated travel advice, urging people to remember that they aren’t leaving COVID-19 behind when they hit the open roads this summer. She says there will be a focus to ensure that communities that rely on tourism don’t see a spike in cases.

“We’ve been talking about how best to do it, but it really is about checking ahead, and finding out what’s available,” Henry added. “If you are going to a smaller community, bring what you need with you. The same for camping. We know that when this virus is anywhere, we’re at risk, all of us, collectively.”

As of Monday, there were no active COVID-19 cases across the Interior, Northern, and Vancouver Island Health regions, but Henry is still urging caution as there are cases being transmitted in some B.C. communities.

“We did however do quite a few things last week, including starting schools up again, including there were some gatherings that happened,” she added. “So we need to understand the impact of those and we are still seeing cases transmitted in our communities, so we are moving slowly.”

Premier John Horgan says he understands that people are getting antsy to travel as the summer approaches, but he notes it wasn’t that long ago that leaders in places that depend on tourism, like Tofino and Bella Coola, were telling people to stay home.

“You know, if people want to book arrangements at their favourite place in B.C., they certainly can do that now, but there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to get there,” Horgan added.

He also noted that the government continues to review when things like international travel could return amid the COVID-19 pandemic.