B.C.’s top doctor is urging snowbirds in places like the United States to judge their own risk when it comes to quarantines and outbreaks of COVID-19.

Dr. Bonnie Henry was speaking as the Federal Government warned that new border restrictions, flight cancellations, and quarantines could mean that some Canadians may not be able to come home.

“Many snowbirds in parts of the US, may be in places that are not having a lot of this outbreak,” she said. “If people do come back home, across the country now, they’ll be asked to self-isolate when they get home and we’ll need to monitor them carefully because we know the risk in the United States is also very variable and is moving.”

It’s not just the United States that is affected, as with more than 22,000 cases in Europe, many Canadians on that continent are scrambling to make their way back home.

Italy, Denmark, Ireland, and Spain among other countries have announced varying degrees of restrictions on people there in a bid to contain the spread of the virus.

“We’ve been saying all along that this has been evolving very quickly, and people need to judge their own risk about being caught up in quarantines,” added Henry. “And now, it’s a quarantine here in Canada.”

Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne took to twitter this morning to recommend that Canadian travellers return home while commercial flights are still operational.

Anyone who returns to B.C., and Canada after travelling anywhere abroad has to self-isolate for 14 days upon their return.

However, Henry says both the Federal and B.C. governments are urging Canadians to avoid non-essential travel outside of Canada, and to also avoid cruise ships for the foreseeable future.

OFFICIAL ADVICE TO CANADIANS ABROAD:

We recommend that Canadian travellers return to Canada via commercial means while they remain available. pic.twitter.com/f8DC5goS3n

— François-Philippe Champagne (FPC) 🇨🇦 (@FP_Champagne) March 14, 2020