VANCOUVER -- The British Columbia Centre for Disease Control added five more flights to its list of possible COVID-19 exposures Thursday evening.
Three of the flights in question were domestic, while the other two were international. All five either departed from or landed at Vancouver International Airport.
The domestic flights added to the list Thursday were:
- Aug. 21 - WestJet flight 706 from Vancouver to Toronto (rows 22 to 28)
- Aug. 29 - Flair flight 8417 from Vancouver to Fort McMurray (rows 15 to 21)
- Aug. 30 - Air Canada flight 251 from Edmonton to Vancouver (rows 18 to 24)
The international flights added were:
- Aug. 25 - Lufthansa flight 492 from Frankfurt to Vancouver (rows 34 to 40)
- Aug. 26 - KLM flight 681 from Amsterdam to Vancouver (rows not reported)
Notably, the WestJet flight from Vancouver to Toronto on Aug. 21 was added to the federal list of flights with cases of COVID-19 on board on Aug. 22. CTV News Vancouver reported the exposure at that time.
Passengers seated in the rows listed are considered to be at greater risk of contracting COVID-19 due to their proximity to a confirmed case of the coronavirus.
The BCCDC advises anyone who was on any of these flights to self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 and to self-isolate and seek testing if any symptoms develop. Passengers arriving in Canada from international destinations are required to self-isolate for 14 days after their arrival.
B.C. health officials no longer directly contact people who were seated near a confirmed case of COVID-19 on a flight. Instead, the health authorities provide updates on flights with confirmed cases as they're made aware of them and post them online.
