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
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
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.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.