33 flights added to B.C. COVID-19 exposure list so far this week; most since early May
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control has added 33 flights involving B.C. airports to its list of COVID-19 exposures since Sunday. That's the most new additions to the list in a one-week period since the week that ended on May 8, when 52 flights were added to the list.
The BCCDC added eight flights to the exposures list on Monday, six on Tuesday, eight on Wednesday and 11 on Thursday.
Though the latest additions were added to the list this week, the flights in question either took off from or landed at a B.C. airport between July 8 and 19.
Twelve of the 33 flights added so far this week were international, while the rest were domestic.
Details of all flights with a coronavirus case on board - including rows considered to be at greatest risk - can be found on the BCCDC website.
While studies suggest the risk of contracting COVID-19 on an airplane is low, there have been some examples of it happening.
The increase in the number of flight exposures follows several weeks in which the BCCDC added fewer than two dozen flights per seven-day period.
In the past, the number of flights with COVID-19 cases on board passing through B.C. airports has tended to mirror the pandemic's overall trajectory, with more exposures happening during times when active caseloads are high or rising and fewer happening when they are low or declining.
On Friday, B.C. health officials announced more than 100 new cases of COVID-19 in a single day for the first time since mid-June.
While the rolling seven-day average for daily cases in the province remains a fraction of what it was in April, at the height of the third wave of the pandemic in the province, it has been rising in recent weeks.
As of Friday, the average was 73 cases per day, more than double the post-third-wave low of 35 on July 5.
The increase in flight exposures comes roughly two weeks after Canada began allowing fully vaccinated Canadian citizens and permanent residents to enter the country without quarantining.
Fully vaccinated Americans will be allowed to enter Canada without quarantining as of Aug. 9, and the federal government has said it plans to extend the policy to all fully vaccinated international travellers on Sept. 7.
The U.S., meanwhile, has decided to leave its border closed to Canadians travelling for non-essential purposes until at least Aug. 21.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.