VANCOUVER

Latest COVID-19 exposures on flights involving B.C. airports

Ian Holliday CTVNewsVancouver.ca Journalist

Published Wednesday, January 13, 2021 12:41PM PST Last Updated Wednesday, January 13, 2021 7:47PM PST

YVR is seen from CTV's Chopper 9 on Monday, June 4, 2018. (Pete Cline / CTV Vancouver)

Text:

VANCOUVER -- The B.C. Centre for Disease Control has added several more flights to its list of COVID-19 exposures involving B.C. airports.

Thirteen flights were added to the list Tuesday and five more were added on Wednesday. The latest additions include flights that departed as long ago as Dec. 30 and as recently as Jan. 8.

Details of the affected flights are as follows.

Dec. 30: Flair flight 8134 from Vancouver to Toronto (rows 12 to 18)
Jan. 1: Air Canada/Jazz flight 8576 from Vancouver to Saskatoon (rows 22 to 27)
Jan. 1: WestJet flight 3282 from Prince George to Vancouver (rows three to nine)
Jan. 3: Air Canada flight 195 from Toronto to Victoria (rows 19 to 25)
Jan. 3: Air Canada/Jazz flight 8572 from Vancouver to Regina (rows 13 to 19)
Jan. 3: WestJet flight 3387 from Calgary to Kelowna (rows one to six)
Jan. 4: Air Canada flight 311 from Montreal to Vancouver (rows 37 to 42)
Jan. 4: WestJet flight 3315 from Calgary to Comox (rows 12 to 18)
Jan. 5: Air Canada flight 244 from Vancouver to Edmonton (rows 25 to 31)
Jan. 5: Air Canada flight 302 from Vancouver to Montreal (rows 39 to 45)
Jan. 5: Air Canada flight 567 from San Francisco to Vancouver (rows 12 to 16)
Jan. 5: United Airlines flight 1641 from Denver to Vancouver (rows four to 16)
Jan. 6: Air Canada flight 205 from Calgary to Vancouver (rows 20 to 26)
Jan. 7: Air Canada/Jazz flight 8618 from Vancouver to Winnipeg (rows 12 to 18)
Jan. 7: American Airlines flight 1539 from Dallas to Vancouver (rows eight to 11)
Jan. 7: WestJet flight 3231 from Calgary to Abbotsford (rows 13 to 19)
Jan. 8: Aeromexico flight 696 from Mexico City to Vancouver (rows not reported)
Jan. 8: Air Canada flight 107 from Toronto to Vancouver (rows 23 to 29)

International travellers are required to self-isolate for 14 days upon their arrival in B.C. Domestic travellers are not required to self-isolate, but health officials have been recommending against non-essential domestic travel for months.

Notably, two of the flights added Tuesday arrived in B.C. after new federal rules requiring international passengers to present proof of a negative COVID-19 test took effect.

Passengers on the Jan. 7 flight from Dallas to Vancouver and on the Jan. 8 flight from Mexico City to Vancouver would all have been required to show proof of a negative test taken within 72 hours of their departure. The inclusion of those flights on the list suggests that at least one person who was on each of the flights has tested positive since landing in B.C.

Anyone who was on any of the affected flights is asked to self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19, seeking testing and self-isolating if any develop.

Passengers who were seated in the listed rows are considered to be at greater risk of contracting the coronavirus because of their proximity to a confirmed case.

B.C. health officials do not directly follow up with everyone who was on an airplane that had a possible COVID-19 exposure. Instead, exposure notifications are posted on the BCCDC website.