The BC Centre for Disease Control is warning of possible COVID-19 exposures on 17 more flights through B.C. airports.
The international and domestic flights were added to the BCCDC’s online list of public exposures between Feb. 15 and Feb. 20.
The affected flights are:
- Feb. 3: Air India 185 from Delhi to Vancouver (affected rows not reported)
- Feb. 3: Air Canada/Jazz 8550 from Vancouver to Regina (affected rows 16 to 22)
- Feb. 5: WestJet 3241 from Calgary to Kamloops (affected rows 12 to 18)
- Feb. 6: Air Canada 215 from Calgary to Vancouver (affected rows not reported)
- Feb. 9: WestJet 3110 from Kelowna to Calgary (affected rows 15 to 21)
- Feb. 11: Air Canada 114 from Vancouver to Toronto (affected rows not reported)
- Feb. 11: Air Canada 301 from Montreal to Vancouver (affected rows not reported)
- Feb. 11: WestJet 706 from Vancouver to Toronto (affected rows 32 to 36)
- Feb. 12: 8822 from Vancouver to Calgary (affected rows 11 to 17)
- Feb. 12: Air Canada 306 from Vancouver to Montreal (affected rows not reported)
- Feb. 12: Air Canada 311 from Montreal to Vancouver (affected rows not reported)
- Feb. 12: Aeromexico 9644 from Mexico City to Vancouver (affected rows 9 to 15)
- Feb. 12: Air Canada 114 from Vancouver to Toronto (affected rows 33 to 39)
- Feb. 12: Air Canada 8050 from Victoria to Vancouver (affected rows 6 to 12)
- Feb. 13: WestJet 115 from Calgary to Vancouver (affected rows 1 to 7)
- Feb. 15: Flair 8821 from Calgary to Vancouver (affected rows 2 to 5 and 26 to 32)
- Feb. 15: WestJet 3450 from Abbotsford to Calgary (affected rows 4 to 10)
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.
Key symptoms to watch out for include fever or chills, cough, loss of sense of smell or taste and difficulty breathing.
New international travel restrictions
The federal government announced new rules last month in a bid to discourage not-essential, international travel, and Canada’s main airlines agreed to suspend service to Mexico and the Caribbean.
As of Sunday at 9 p.m. PST (midnight eastern time), travellers will be required to take a COVID-19 molecular test at the airport after arriving in Canada and must book a government-authorized hotel for three nights, where they will stay while they await their arrival test results. Travellers will have to pay for their own hotel expenses and must book the hotel prior to their boarding their return flight.
This is in addition to the pre-flight testing for international travellers put in place on Jan. 7.
So far, the government has authorized three hotels in Richmond, near the airport, for the three-night stay: the Westin Wall Centre Vancouver Airport, the Radisson Vancouver Airport and the Fairmont Vancouver Airport.
More hotels will be added to the list in the coming days, according to the federal government.
International flights are only able to land at four airports across the country: Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Toronto.
