A total of 29 flights were added to the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC)’s list of possible COVID-19 exposures this past week.
The flights added to the online list of public exposures between Feb. 20 and 28 included four international and 25 domestic flights.
The affected flights are:
- Feb. 10: Air Canada/Jazz flight 8236, from Vancouver to Terrace (affected rows: 12 to 18)
- Feb. 12: Air Canada flight 115, from Toronto to Vancouver (affected rows not reported)
- Feb. 12: Aeromexico flight 9644, from Mexico City to Vancouver (affected rows: 10 to 14)
- Feb 12: Air Canada flight 124, from Vancouver to Toronto (affected rows: 2 to 8)
- Feb 13: WestJet flight 115, from Calgary to Vancouver (affected rows: 1 to 7)
- Feb. 13: Air Canada/Jazz flight 8239, from Terrace to Vancouver (affected rows: 2 to 8)
- Feb. 14: Air Canada/Jazz flight 8069, from Vancouver to Victoria (affected rows: 17 to 20)
- Feb. 14: Air Canada/Jazz flight 8239, from Terrace to Vancouver (affected rows:16 to 20)
- Feb. 15: Air Canada flight 114, from Vancouver to Toronto (affected rows: 20 to 26)
- Feb. 15: Air Canada flight 224, from Vancouver to Calgary (affected rows: 28 to 34)
- Feb. 15: Air Canada flight 202, from Vancouver to Calgary (affected rows: 31 to 26)
- Feb. 15: Air Canada flight 314, from Vancouver to Montreal (affected rows: 1 to 3)
- Feb. 17: Air Canada flight 242, from Vancouver to Edmonton (affected rows: 19 to 25)
- Feb. 17: WestJet flight 136, from Vancouver to Calgary (affected rows: 18 to 24)
- Feb. 17: Air Canada flight 123, from Toronto to Vancouver (affected rows: 23 to 27 and 29 to 35)
- Feb. 18: Air Canada flight 115, from Toronto to Vancouver (affected rows: 30 to 36)
- Feb. 18: Air Canada flight 106, from Vancouver to Toronto (affected rows not reported)
- Feb. 18: WestJet flight 115, from Calgary to Vancouver (affected rows: 18 to 24)
- Feb. 18: WestJet flight 3450, from Abbotsford to Calgary (affected rows: 16 to 19)
- Feb. 19: Aeromexico flight 9644, from Mexico City to Vancouver (affected rows: 15 to 21)
- Feb. 20: Air Canada flight 251, from Edmonton to Vancouver (affected rows: 13 to 19)
- Feb. 20: Air Canada/Air New Zealand flight 554/4605, from Vancouver to Los Angeles (affected rows: 31 to 27)
- Feb. 20: WestJet flight 706, from Vancouver to Toronto (affected rows: 15 to 21)
- Feb. 21: Flair flight 8101, from Vancouver to Edmonton (affected rows: 13 to 19)
- Feb. 21: Air India flight 185, from Delhi to Vancouver (affected rows not reported)
- Feb. 21: Air Canada flight 114, from Vancouver to Toronto (affected rows: 30 to 35)
- Feb. 21: Air Canada/Jazz flight 8413, from Kelowna to Vancouver (affected rows: 7 to 13)
- Feb. 22: WestJet flight 112, from Vancouver to Calgary (affected rows: 4 to 10)
- Feb. 24: Air Canada flight 103, from Toronto to Vancouver (affected rows: 12 to 14)
Passengers seated in the affected rows – listed when available – should be “considered to be at higher risk of exposure due to their proximity to the case,” according to the BCCDC.
Domestic passengers on a flight with a confirmed case of COVID-19 are advised to self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days, and get tested if any develop. While domestic travellers are not required to quarantine, health officials have been advising against non-essential travel for months.
Key symptoms to watch out for include fever or chills, cough, loss of sense of smell or taste and difficulty breathing.
Meanwhile, those arriving on flights from outside of Canada are required to isolate for 14 days under the federal Quarantine Act.
Further travel restrictions announced
On Jan. 29, the federal government announced new rules in a bid to discourage non-essential, international travel and Canada's main airlines have agreed to suspend service to Mexico and the Caribbean.
Air Canada, Westjet, Sun Wing and Air Transat, will cancel their flights to those sun destinations beginning Sunday, Jan. 31, until April 30.
The new restrictions are aimed at stemming the spread of new variants of COVID-19.
Starting next week, international flights will also only be able to land at four airports: Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Toronto.
Furthermore, once they land, international travellers will be required to take a PCR test at the airport to determine if they have COVID-19. While they await their test results, they will need to wait at an approved hotel for up to three days at their own expense – which is estimated at about $2,000.
This is in addition to the pre-flight testing for international travellers put in place on Jan. 7.
In the coming weeks, non-essential travellers will also have to provide a negative test at the land border with the U.S.
Those who test negative for the virus will be allowed to quarantine at home, while those international travellers who test positive will be send to a designated government facility to quarantine.
- With files from Kirsten Clarke/Richmond News and Stefan Labbé/Tri-City News
