COVID-19 exposures on 232 flights and counting in B.C. last month

For the third consecutive month, more than 200 flights with COVID-19 cases on board have passed through B.C. airports, according to data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

For the third consecutive month, more than 200 flights with COVID-19 cases on board have passed through B.C. airports, according to data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control. 

As of Wednesday evening, the BCCDC had posted exposure notifications for 232 different flights that took off from or landed at airports in the province during the month of October. That number will likely continue to grow as people who flew recently test positive and their exposures get added to the list.

The final total for October will almost certainly fail to match the record high seen in August, when the BCCDC ended up adding 522 flights to the list. October could yet match September's total of 269 flight exposures, however.

Flights are added to the list when one or more passengers test positive for COVID-19. Though coronavirus transmission on airplanes is rare, there have been some recorded instances of it happening.

The BCCDC recommends anyone who was on a flight with a COVID-19 exposure to self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days, seeking testing and self-isolating if any develop.

The full list of recent flight exposures, as well as affected rows that are considered at higher risk, can be found on the BCCDC website.

Since the pandemic began, the number of exposures on airplanes passing through B.C. airports has tended to follow the same pattern as the number of cases in the province.