A Member of Parliament from British Columbia is calling for tougher security measures after provincial officials identified several cases of COVID-19 on airplanes including one that landed at Victoria International Airport.
“I repeat: the federal government must order all airlines operating in Canada to follow physical distancing rules,” wrote Don Davis, New Democratic MP for Vancouver Kingsway and his party’s health critic on Twitter Saturday. “Not doing so is negligent and dangerous.”
I repeat: the federal government must order all airlines operating in Canada to follow physical distancing rules. Not doing so is negligent and dangerous. https://t.co/8XEroudFsy
— Don Davies MP (@DonDavies) July 19, 2020
He made that comment on social media after the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) identified a COVID-19 case on Air Canada 8073 through its online, public reporting system. The flight was scheduled to land in Victoria July 13 from Vancouver. Notably, the BCCDC also confirmed a case onboard an Air Canada flight that had travelled on the same date from Toronto to Vancouver.
The information available here does not offer additional details about the confirmed case that landed in Victoria, the latest of 11 reported cases on domestic flights dating back to June 3, as found on the website. The centre also reported six cases related to international flights.
We have added two more flights with potential #COVID19 exposure.
– July 13: Air Canada – Toronto to Vancouver
– July 13: Air Canada – Vancouver to Victoria
More details available here: https://t.co/785ybAvmcn pic.twitter.com/Yj2sZ4CmMU— BCCDC (@CDCofBC) July 18, 2020
RELATED: Pandemic nearly grounds passenger count at Victoria International Airport
BCCDC reported the case online as part of changing procedures dating back to March 27, when the province stopped directly contacting passengers from domestic flights who were seated near a confirmed case during the flight.
“Passengers in the ‘affected seats’ listed below may have been exposed to COVID-19 and should self-isolate and monitor for symptoms for 14 days following the flight,” it reads. “Other passengers are not required to self-isolate but should self-monitor for onset of symptoms for 14 days after the flight. For flights with ‘affected seats’ not specified, we recommend that flight passengers self-isolate and monitor for symptoms for 14 days following the flight.”
The Peninsula News Review has reached out to the airport for comment and will update this story accordingly.
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