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BCCDC flags 29 B.C. flights for COVID-19 exposures this past week

Flights were added to the public exposure list between Mar. 1 and 11.
Valerie Leung
Valerie Leung
coronavirus-flight
The wing of an airplane. (via Canadian Press)

A total of 33 flights were added to the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC)’s list of possible COVID-19 exposures this past week.

The flights added to the online list of public exposures between Mar. 1 to 11 included 10 international and 23 domestic flights.

The affected flights are:

  • Feb. 15: Air Canada 127, from Toronto to Vancouver (affected rows: 33-39)
  • Feb. 20: Air Canada 114, from Vancouver to Toronto (affected rows: 37-43)
  • Feb. 20: Air Canada 115, from Toronto to Vancouver (affected rows: 16-22)
  • Feb. 21: Delta 3702, from Seattle to Vancouver (affected rows: 2-8)
  • Feb. 22: Air Canada 202, from Vancouver to Calgary (affected rows: 29-35)
  • Feb. 22: Pacific Costal Airlines 8P1543, from Victoria to Kelowna (affected rows not reported)
  • Feb. 24: Air Canada 314, from Vancouver to Montreal (affected rows not reported)
  • Feb. 24: Air Canada 311, from Montreal to Vancouver (affected rows not reported)
  • Feb. 24: Air Canada 45, from Delhi to Vancouver (affected rows: 34-40)
  • Feb. 25: WestJet 129, from Calgary to Vancouver (affected rows: 14-20)
  • Feb. 25: EVA Air 9, from Vancouver to Taipei (affected rows: 18-24)
  • Feb. 26: Air Canada 223, from Calgary to Vancouver (affected rows: 12-18)
  • Feb. 26: Air Canada/Jazz 8240, from Vancouver to Terrace (affected rows: 8-14)
  • Feb. 27: Air Canada 114, from Vancouver to Toronto (affected rows: 34-40)
  • Feb. 27: Air Canada 311, from Vancouver to Montreal (affected rows not reported)
  • Feb. 28, WestJet 3287, from Vancouver to Prince George (affected rows: 14-20)
  • Feb. 28: Air Canada/Jazz 8239, from Terrace to Vancouver (affected rows: 3-9)
  • Feb. 28: Air Canada/Jazz 8069, from Vancouver to Victoria (affected rows: 13-19)
  • Feb. 28: Air India 185, from Delhi to Vancouver (affected rows not reported)
  • Mar. 1: WestJet 126, from Vancouver to Calgary (affected rows: 18-24)
  • Mar. 1: Flair 8822, from Vancouver to Calgary (affected rows: 17-23)
  • Mar. 1: Air Canada 106, from Vancouver to Toronto (affected rows: 38-44)
  • Mar. 1: Alaska Airlines 3443 from Vancouver to Seattle (affected rows: 1-6)
  • Mar. 1: Pacific Costal 8P1303, from Vancouver to Penticton (affected rows not reported)
  • Mar. 1: WestJet 112, from Vancouver to Calgary (affected rows: 13-19)
  • Mar. 2: Air Canada 106, from Vancouver to Toronto (affected rows: 20-26)
  • Mar. 3: Air Canada 123, from Toronto to Vancouver (affected rows: 1-5)
  • Mar. 3: Air Canada 45, from Delhi to Vancouver(affected rows: 18-29 and 37-43)
  • Mar. 4: Air Canada 8236, from Vancouver to Terrace (affected rows: 1-7)
  • Mar. 5: Aeromexico 9644, from Mexico City to Vancouver (affected rows not reported)
  • Mar. 5: Air India 185, from Delhi to Vancouver (affected rows: 29-55)
  • Mar. 5: Sunwing 2858, from Mexico City to Vancouver (affected rows: 25 – 32)
  • Mar. 6: Air Canada 7, from Vancouver to Hong Kong (affected rows: 1-6)

Passengers seated in the affected rows – listed when available – should be “considered to be at higher risk of exposure due to their proximity to the case,” according to the BCCDC.

Domestic passengers on a flight with a confirmed case of COVID-19 are advised to self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days, and get tested if any develop. While domestic travellers are not required to quarantine, health officials have been advising against non-essential travel for months. 

Key symptoms to watch out for include fever or chills, cough, loss of sense of smell or taste and difficulty breathing.

Meanwhile, those arriving on flights from outside of Canada are required to isolate for 14 days under the federal Quarantine Act.

Further travel restrictions announced

On Jan. 29, the federal government announced new rules in a bid to discourage non-essential, international travel and Canada's main airlines have agreed to suspend service to Mexico and the Caribbean.

Air Canada, Westjet, Sun Wing and Air Transat, will cancel their flights to those sun destinations beginning Sunday, Jan. 31, until April 30.

The new restrictions are aimed at stemming the spread of new variants of COVID-19.

Starting next week, international flights will also only be able to land at four airports: Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Toronto.

Furthermore, once they land, international travellers will be required to take a PCR test at the airport to determine if they have COVID-19. While they await their test results, they will need to wait at an approved hotel for up to three days at their own expense – which is estimated at about $2,000.

This is in addition to the pre-flight testing for international travellers put in place on Jan. 7.

In the coming weeks, non-essential travellers will also have to provide a negative test at the land border with the U.S.

Those who test negative for the virus will be allowed to quarantine at home, while those international travellers who test positive will be send to a designated government facility to quarantine.

  • With files from Kirsten Clarke/Richmond News and Stefan Labbé/Tri-City News