VANCOUVER -- The British Columbia Centre for Disease Control is warning about two more flights that had passengers infected COVID-19 on board.
Both of the flights happened on July 13 and involved Vancouver International Airport, according to the BCCDC. One of the flights, Air Canada flight 111, originated in Toronto and landed in Vancouver. The other, Air Canada flight 8073, departed Vancouver and landed in Victoria.
The BCCDC recommends anyone who was a passenger on either of these flights self-isolate and monitor themselves for symptoms until July 27, 14 days after the day of the flight.
B.C. health officials no longer directly contact people who were seated near a confirmed case of COVID-19 on a domestic flight. Instead, the BCCDC provides updates on flights with confirmed cases as it becomes aware of them. More information on recent exposures can be found on the BCCDC website.
Saturday's update comes at the end of a week in which eight flights involving B.C. airports were added to the BCCDC's list of coronavirus exposures.
On Tuesday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry called for improvements to screening, cancellation policies and information sharing, adding 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.
Responding to Henry's comments in a statement this week, Air Canada said it has screening protocols in place and offers "flexible" rebooking options if passengers are too sick to fly.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Carly Yoshida-Butryn
