Passengers on 4 flights into YVR warned of possible COVID-19 exposure
B.C. Centre for Disease Control asking passengers on flights to self-isolate for 14 days, monitor for symptoms
Health authorities are warning passengers on four recent flights into Vancouver International Airport of possible exposure to COVID-19.
The warning comes just days after Health Minister Adrian Dix said he wanted to see evidence it's safe for British Columbians to fly.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control is asking everyone on the affected flights to self-isolate and monitor for symptoms for 14 days following their flight.
According to the BCCDC, the affected flights are:
- June 3, Delta flight 3898 from Seattle
- June 16, Air Canada flight 217 from Saskatoon
- June 18, Air Canada flight 557 from Los Angeles
- June 21, Flair Airlines flight 8102 from Toronto
Information on the number of passengers who were possibly affected was not immediately available.
"We are aware of the COVID-19 positive passengers on board our flight 8102 on June 21, 2020," said Jamina Kotak with Flair Airlines.
"We have had no employees or flight crews test positive for COVID-19, nor are we aware that any other passenger on this flight was affected," she said.
On Monday, Dix said he wanted to see evidence that it's safe for the country's two largest airlines to drop their in-flight distancing policies during the pandemic.
Dix said he would like to hear from federal agencies to allay fears or explain why they've allowed Air Canada and WestJet to end the seat-distancing policies as of July 1.
The airlines announced last week that they are using health recommendations from the United Nation's aviation agency and the International Air Transport Association.
In May, there was possible COVID-19 exposure for passengers on two domestic flights and four international flights landing at YVR, according to the BCCDC.