COVID-19 exposures identified on nearly 20 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 10, 19 new flights have been added.

According to the Government of Canada, passengers on 13 international flights that touched down in Montreal could have been exposed to coronavirus. Six domestic flights that departed from Montreal or landed at YUL could also have led to virus exposure.

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Most recently, an international flight from Frankfurt (flight AC875) touched down in Montreal last week. Other potential international exposures came in from Paris, Newark, Casablanca, Cancun, Amsterdam, and Instanbul

The affected rows have been identified for almost all out-of-country flights that landed in Montreal.

Canada.ca

Domestically, flights departing from or landing in Montreal have come from Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto, St. John’s, and Val-d’Or. Affected rows have been identified for five of the six.

Canada.ca

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.

Earlier this month, 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 said that procedures such as mandatory mask-wearing and proper physical distancing will help to limit the spread of coronavirus.