9 more COVID-19 exposures identified on Montreal flights

Additional flights leaving from and landing in Montreal have been added to the Government of Canada’s possible COVID-19 exposure list.

Since December 9, nine new flights have been added.

According to the Government of Canada, passengers on 13 international flights that touched down or departed from Montreal since December 2 could have led to exposure.

In terms of domestic flights that departed from Montreal or landed at YUL, eight could have led to virus exposure since the beginning of December.

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Most recently, an international flight from Detroit (flight DL4740) touched down in Montreal last week. Other potential international exposures came in from Fort Lauderdale, Chicago, London, Casablanca, Newark, Paris, Cancun, Chicago, and Doha.

The affected rows have been identified for almost all international flights.

Domestically, flights departing from or landing in Montreal have come from Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto, Saint John, and Vancouver.

The information is collected through provincial, territorial, international health authorities, and public websites. Flights are added and removed regularly by the Government of Canada on its website.

Travellers are reminded that they are to self-isolate for 14 days upon entry into Canada. “This is mandatory, whether or not you have symptoms,” the government states.

In November, Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, said there have been “very few reports” of COVID-19 spreading on board airplanes. She says it’s “extremely rare,” and as doctors and scientists learn more about the ventilation on modern aircrafts, they are not as hospitable to the virus as previously thought.

“There’s been very few reports, extremely rare reports actually, of transmission aboard aircrafts,” Tam said. “The modern aircraft is actually really good in terms of air exchanges and the way that airflow occurs in the cabin.”

Tam also said that procedures such as mandatory mask-wearing and proper physical distancing would help limit the spread of COVID-19.