VANCOUVER

7 flights added to B.C.'s list of COVID-19 exposures

Tessa Vikander CTVNewsVancouver.ca Reporter

Published Saturday, January 30, 2021 10:07AM PST Last Updated Saturday, January 30, 2021 10:53AM PST

Planes are seen on the tarmac at YVR in this photo from April 2019. (Gary Barndt / CTV News Vancouver)

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VANCOUVER -- Several more flights have been added to B.C.’s list of COVID-19 exposures, and the province’s disease experts are warning travellers on those flights to monitor themselves for symptoms of the coronavirus.

The BC Centre for Disease Control posted details about the recent flights on Thursday and Friday this week. Details of the most recent flight exposures came as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Friday that there are new measures to restrict non-essential international travel ahead of spring break.

The most recent flights added to the exposure warning list are:

January 19, Air Canada 128, Vancouver to Toronto (rows 1 - 4)
January 20, Air Canada 234, Vancouver to Edmonton (rows 12 - 17)
January 20: Air Canada 128, Vancouver to Toronto (rows 30 - 36)
January 23, Air Canada 551, Los Angeles to Vancouver (rows 18 - 24)
January 24: Aeromexico 696, Mexico City to Vancouver (rows not reported)
January 24: WestJet 186, Vancouver to Edmonton (rows 15 - 19)
January 26: Air Canada 255, Kelowna to Vancouver (rows 20 - 26)

Anyone who was on one of the affected flights should self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19, seeking testing and self-isolating if any develop. Those seated on the rows listed are at higher risk of having contracted the virus, than those elsewhere on the plane.

Domestic travellers are not required to quarantine, but health officials have advised against non-essential travel within Canada for months. While Manitoba announced earlier this week that non-essential visitors will soon have to self-isolate for 14 days upon their arrival, B.C. isn't following suit yet.

"Until such time as the public health officer advises me that there's a benefit to going down that road, we're going to leave it untravelled," Premier John Horgan said Wednesday. "The public health evidence is not there at this time."

Most of the flights added to the warning list were domestic, however travellers on the two international flights need to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.

B.C. health officials do not directly contact everyone who was on a flight with a confirmed case of COVID-19. Instead, public notifications are posted on the BCCDC's website.