COVID-19 exposures identified on 35 more 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 November 24, 35 new flights have been added.

According to the Government of Canada, passengers on 20 international flights that touched down or departed from Montreal could have been exposed to coronavirus.

In terms of domestic flights that departed from Montreal or landed at YUL, 19 flights could have led to virus exposure.

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Most recently, an international flight from Punta Cana (flight AC1297) touched down in Montreal last week. Other potential international exposures came in from Cancun, Paris, Ford Lauderdale, Istanbul, Lima, Doha, New York, Detroit, and Casablanca.

The affected rows have been identified for certain international flights.

Domestically, flights departing from or landing in Montreal have come from Calgary, Quebec City, St. John’s, Toronto, Vancouver, Saint John, and Moncton.

The information is collected through provincial, territorial, and 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 to limit the spread of COVID-19.