The Yukon will enter the third and final phase of its reopening plan on Aug. 1, but changes will be slow and incremental, according to Dr. Brendan Hanley, the territory’s chief medical officer.

“Phase three will start slowly and progress slowly,” Hanley said during a COVID-19 update on Wednesday afternoon.

Hanley said he is considering the expansion of family bubbles, larger gatherings and a return to sports in the next phase. 

There will soon be guidelines for seated and planned events, like ceremonies, in community halls and other spaces where guests can be appropriately spaced.

There was consideration of removing self-isolation requirements for travellers outside the North and B.C., but rising case numbers south of the Yukon border have taken that off the table for now, Hanley said.

Both Alberta and B.C. have seen a surge in COVID-19 cases this month.

As of Friday morning, Alberta had 1,293 active cases, while B.C. had 304.

More than 100 new cases in B.C. were discovered last weekend and traced back to parties in Kelowna.

Hanley said he is not reconsidering the Yukon’s open border with B.C., because the surge is central to the Okanagan.

“Obviously, I am concerned; we’re watching closely,” Hanley said.

“I would be much less inclined to advise going back on our B.C. bubble unless we were to see something much more widespread, and a clear and present threat.”

Hanley recommended that Yukoners travelling to the Okanagan remain vigilant, avoid social gatherings in the area, and “keep a low profile” after returning. This means carefully monitoring for symptoms and avoiding parties and gatherings.

Region-specific advice to be mindful while travelling is the “language of the future,” as borders continue to open despite small surges of the virus, Hanley said.

“We know that eventually we must move away from enforcement at the borders as we have started to do,” Hanley said.

“We need to move slowly towards a point where self-isolation is not mandated at the borders upon entry.”

Premier Sandy Silver said B.C. Premier John Horgan is calling on the federal government to enact heavier restrictions with the United States.

“I’ve added my voice to his call for stronger restrictions on the southern borders,” Silver said.

“As we track and monitor the international situation, the United States situation, we are keeping an eye on the record.”

Hanley said he is still confident in the Yukon’s capacity to manage new cases of the virus.

There are also no plans to mandate mask use in the Yukon, as other Canadian jurisdictions have.

“I’m still not in favour of making masks mandatory and it’s certainly not mandatory for healthy people in the Yukon to wear masks in public at this time,” Hanley said.

This is because the Yukon doesn’t have community transmission, and people are generally able to maintain a safe distance away from each other.

Hanley recommends the wearing of masks in certain indoor settings where physical distancing isn’t possible, like in personal care businesses, on city buses and at the airport.

The B.C. surge in cases is a warning, particularly for young people, about the dangers associated with large gatherings.

Hanley said he is concerned some younger people may feel they are invincible and won’t be harmed by the virus.

While he conceded that younger people generally recover from COVID-19, he urged Yukon youth to consider the loved ones in their lives who are more at risk.

“We should all think of someone who we want to protect,” Hanley said.

Yukoners relaxing on their personal COVID-19 measures is of the greatest concern at the moment, Hanley added.

“I know well the COVID fatigue that is wearing us down,” he said.

“When we stop practising physical distancing, good hand hygiene or staying home when we’re sick, when we let our guard down, that’s when we let the disease back in.”

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified B.C.'s total case count of 3,392 as the number of active cases. The Star regrets the error.