Ottawa, May 22 (IANS): Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged citizens to continue taking the COVID-19 pandemic seriously as a possible second wave of the deadly disease is looming ahead.

"One of the things we know is that in pandemics, there are usually second waves," Trudeau said during his press conference on Thursday.

"The question that we're very much focused on is that, as that second wave begins, or as we start to see resurgences in a reopened economy, how quickly are we able to contain them and control them?" he asked.

Canadian medical experts also warned of a second wave of COVID-19 infections in the country, reports Xinhua news agency.

Trudeau repeated his government's recommendation for Canadians to wear non-medical masks in a situation where physical distancing can not be maintained.

Some Canadian provinces have started to reopen the economy after the COVID-19 curve continues to show signs of flattening in Canada.

Trudeau stressed that it has never been more important to follow public health instructions.

"Keep washing your hands, stay home, and if you need to, wear a mask."

He promised that his government is willing to help the provinces and territories in the country increase their testing and contact tracing capabilities against the COVID-19.

"It is going to be important to increase testing now but also make sure that as we move forward through the summer and obviously into the fall, we are ready to act extremely quickly so that the population at large won't be in situations of having to go back into confinement," Trudeau added.

So far, there have been 81,277 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 6,145 deaths in the country.