TORONTO -- As Canadians celebrate a toned-down Canada Day this year, the country鈥檚 top doctor is reminding everyone to continue to follow COVID-19 health guidelines she鈥檚 observing while enjoying the holiday. 

While she鈥檚 spending some of the day at work, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam also hoped to celebrate Canada鈥檚 birthday by going outside for a run.

鈥淭he thing I love about Canada, when I arrived in Canada, was the great, amazing, and epic outdoors,鈥� she told 麻豆影视 Channel on Wednesday. 鈥淚鈥檓 a runner so I鈥檓 going to try and do a little bit of exercise if I can and practise what I preach, really, to maintain all of that good public health advice.鈥�

That 鈥済ood public health advice鈥� Tam is referring to includes gathering virtually, wearing a face mask whenever it鈥檚 difficult to maintain physical distance, frequent hand washing, meeting in social 鈥渂ubbles,鈥� and staying home when sick.

鈥淰irtual is best, but certainly stay within your household or family bubble,鈥� she said. 鈥淏oat together in your bubble, commute within your bubble, barbecue within your bubble. It鈥檚 the safest.鈥�

With more than 27,000 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, Tam also took the opportunity to remind Canadians the coronavirus hasn鈥檛 been eradicated yet.

鈥淩ight now, overall in Canada, we have passed the peak of this first wave and we鈥檙e well on our way down the other side of the curve, but the virus is still with us and so we cannot let our guard down,鈥� she explained. 鈥淭here are hotspots around the country. It hasn鈥檛 left.鈥�

Tam said she expects to see more outbreaks as more businesses reopen and some Canadians return to the office in the coming weeks.

鈥淭he key is to sort of jump on those cases and find those contacts really fast, do good testing, and keep those numbers down,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he best-case scenario is a series of these little bumps that we can actually manage to control across the country.鈥�

As for how long Canadians will have to adhere to these guidelines, Tam said there鈥檚 no way to know for sure, but the only way to prevent further spread of the virus is for everyone to work together.

鈥淚 do want to wish everybody a happy and safe Canada Day, go out as safe as you can,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is a marathon and not a sprint.鈥�