VANCOUVER -- Several more flights with passengers carrying COVID-19 have been identified by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, including three between B.C. and Alberta.
The affected flights, all on WestJet, include flight 460 from Kelowna to Calgary on July 2, flight 186 from YVR to Edmonton on July 5 and flight 3312 from Kelowna to Edmonton on July 5.
A case of the virus was also identified on Korean Air 071 from Incheon to Vancouver on July 5.
Under the Quarantine Act, it is mandatory for anyone arriving into B.C. from outside of Canada to self-isolate and monitor for COVID-19 symptoms for 14 days upon arrival, and file a self-isolation plan.
Travellers are no longer notified directly if they were seated near someone with the virus. That information is now posted online at the BCCDC website.
The health agency will sometimes posted the "affected seat numbers," which means only passengers who were seated in those areas need to self-isolate.
Otherwise, passengers are asked to self-isolate and monitor for symptoms for 14 days after their flight.
Health officials announced last week eight people who had spent time in several downtown Kelowna locations had tested positive for COVID-19. Six of those people live in the Lower Mainland, according to the health ministry.
On Tuesday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry called for improvements to screening, cancellation policies and information sharing after several flights that landed at YVR last week were found to have cases of the coronavirus.
She added that contact tracing cases linked to air travel has proved challenging.
"One of the most challenging things we do is trying to get flight manifests a couple of days later when we recognize somebody who might be ill. The type of information on those flight manifests is often not very helpful in trying to follow up with people," Henry said.
Earlier this week, the BCCDC identified four other flights into YVR with confirmed cases of the virus, which included Air Canada flights from Kelowna and Montreal.
In an emailed statement to CTV News responding to Henry's comments, Air Canada said it has screening protocols in place and offers "flexible" rebooking options if passengers are too sick to fly.
"If passengers do not appear well or if they present an elevated temperature at check-in (temperature checks are mandatory prior to boarding any flight), they will not be boarded, and will only be able to fly once cleared by a doctor and Air Canada’s medical desk. Flights are rebooked without additional change fees," Air Canada's statement reads.
Flight manifests are provided to any Canadian health authority upon request within 24 hours, the airline stated, but added it has not received any such requests recently.
The full list of affected flights can be found on the BCCDC's website.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Sheila Scott and Andrew Weichel
