REGINA -- A mother and daughter pair with plans to visit Italy are concerned about their trip due to COVID-19 outbreaks in that country.

Beatrice Bellegarde and her daughter Charleene Coty are planning to leave Saskatoon on March 17 and visit Rome for three days, then take a train to Venice, Italy, followed by a flight to Paris. But Coty is now concerned, because her mother is elderly.

"I did contact the travel agent yesterday, and she did say that we could get credits and we could move some stuff around," Coty said.

"The World Health Organization hasn't declared it a pandemic, so I’m not really afraid. I think things can be under control," Bellegarde said.

Saskatchewan's Chief Medical Health Officer says travellers should be very aware of their plans.

"So I think it's good to be aware of what's happening and then do a best risk assessment of what are you comfortable doing,” Ministry of Health Chief Medical Health POfficer Dr. Saqib Shahab said.

"Go to Health Canada’s website. This is a great resource to let Canadians know what's happening with this particular situation, and they do have a lot of good links for some precautionary measures,” Regina Airport Authority President and CEO James Bogusz said.

Dr. Shahab says there are no cases of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan. The risk of the virus remains low in the province, but precautionary plans are being made.

“We are expanding testing now to not just people coming back from china but also coming back from other countries where there is active community transmission," Shahab said.

Dr. Shahab says anyone who travelled to an affected area is encouraged to self-isolate themselves at home for 14 days. Anyone who has come in contact with a person with COVID-19 should also self-isolate for 14 days

Dr. Shahab says anyone with plans to travel to an affected country like Iran or Italy should check for travel advisories and be sure to follow any guidelines of officials there.