As the Lower Mainland is seeing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, B.C.’s top doctor says it is possible that restrictions could be eased in other areas in the future.

Dr. Bonnie Henry says everything is on the table to see how best to return to normal life in British Columbia.

“The outbreak and the pandemic is different across the country and across the province,” she said on Thursday. “We’re a very large province with quite different demographics and different geographic issues.”

“We are looking at what can we do to try and relax some of the issues or increase some of the health care needs and address those in a safe way in different parts of the province, and we will be tailoring it as best we can to what’s happening in the different areas that we know of.”

That said, Henry notes there are cases of community transmission across the province, adding if needed, things could also be ramped up to limit the spread of COVID-19

“So its a bit challenging,” Henry said. “And we also know that people have come back from travelling to many areas of the province. So we need to measure that as well.”

Health Minister Adrian Dix previously told NL News that there’s no chance that things will get easier soon, adding that April will be a hard month.

“I also think it is important to know that things aren’t going to change because its May 1,” he said on Thursday. “This is an illness that doesn’t have a vaccine and doesn’t have a cure and people around the world are working on both of those things.”

“So its going to affect our behaviour for a long time to come until we have a vaccine, until we find a cure or an effective treatment, other than the treatments we have already, which is supporting people when they get sick.”