At least 143 flights with COVID-19 on board passed through B.C. airports in July
As COVID-19 cases surge in B.C. and across North America, the number of exposures to the disease on flights in and out of the province is also rising.
As of Wednesday, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control had reported 143 flights involving B.C. airports that had at least one confirmed case of the coronavirus on board in the month of July.
That's the highest monthly total the BCCDC has reported since April, when provincial airports saw a record 261 exposure notifications at the height of the pandemic's third wave.
The number of exposures reported in July is likely to continue to climb as more people who flew near the end of the month test positive for COVID-19 and have their contacts traced.
July's numbers continue a trend in which the number of flight exposures largely mirrors the number of cases being reported in the province, overall.
During the months of May and June, as infections in B.C. were trending downward and restrictions were being lifted, the number of flights with the coronavirus on board also declined.
The July increase came alongside notable changes in travel rules and recommendations in Canada.
When B.C. entered Step 3 of its restart plan on July 1, it officially stopped discouraging recreational travel to other provinces. While there was never a legal ban on it, non-essential travel within Canada was not recommended earlier in the pandemic.
Similarly, on July 6, the federal government began allowing fully vaccinated Canadian citizens and permanent residents to return from abroad without having to quarantine.
So far, the changes have not decoupled flight exposures from the overall trend in B.C.'s caseload. The graph of flight exposures continues to look very similar to the graph of daily new cases in B.C.
With Canada scheduled to expand the exemption to quarantine rules to include fully vaccinated Americans as of Aug. 9, CTV News Vancouver will continue monitoring the number of flights with cases on board to see if it continues to follow the overall trend in cases in B.C.
Notably, most of the flights with COVID-19 on board in B.C. since the pandemic began have been domestic, rather than international.
July's 143 flights included 55 that were international, the largest number of international flights with COVID-19 cases on board ever recorded in a month, according to BCCDC data.
Studies have shown that the risk of contracting COVID-19 on an airplane is low, though there have been some examples of it happening.
The full list of B.C. flights with COVID-19 exposures can be found on the BCCDC website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
BREAKING Police cordon off Iran consulate in Paris where man threatens to blow himself up: French media
French police cordoned off the Iranian consulate in Paris on Friday, where a man was threatening to blow himself up, Europe 1 radio and BFM TV.
Some Canadian families will receive up to $620 per child today
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
BREAKING Iran fires at apparent Israeli attack drones near Isfahan air base and nuclear site
An apparent Israeli drone attack on Iran saw troops fire air defences at a major air base and a nuclear site early Friday morning near the central city of Isfahan, an assault coming in retaliation for Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Ottawa to force banks to call carbon rebate a carbon rebate in direct deposits
Canadian banks that refuse to identify the carbon rebate by name when doing direct deposits are forcing the government to change the law to make them do it, says Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.
Ontario woman loses $15,000 to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.