CALGARY

COVID-19 found on 7 international flights bound for Calgary, data shows

Michael Franklin CTVNewsCalgary.ca Senior Digital Producer

Published Thursday, December 31, 2020 4:33PM MST

In this July 18, 2018, file photo a United Airlines commercial jet sits at a gate at Terminal C of Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J. United Continental Holdings, Inc. reports financial results Tuesday, April 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

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CALGARY -- Hundreds of people who flew into or out of Calgary since Dec. 21 may have been exposed to a passenger infected with COVID-19, government data shows.

The information, posted on the Government of Canada's website, has recorded all the possible points where Canadians may have been exposed to a positive case of COVID-19 while travelling through the country.

Since Dec. 21, there has been at least one confirmed case of the illness onboard 29 domestic and international flights going through Calgary International Airport.

As a result, passengers in the listed rows should take precautions including seeking proper COVID-19 testing:

Domestic flights

Dec. 27 – WestJet flight WS3335, from Calgary to Comox (YQQ), rows 13 to 19;
Dec. 27 – WestJet flight WS652, from Calgary to Toronto, rows 1 to 4;
Dec. 27 – WestJet flight WS526, from Calgary to Winnipeg, rows 1 to 3;
Dec. 26 – WestJet flight WS652, from Calgary to Toronto, rows 1 to 4;
Dec. 25 – WestJet flight WS3158, from Fort McMurray (YMM) to Calgary, rows 1 to 6;
Dec. 23 – Air Canada/Jazz flight AC8374, from Fort McMurray (YMM) to Calgary, rows 13 to 19;
Dec. 23 – WestJet flight WS3315, from Calgary to Comox (YQQ), rows 1 to 7;
Dec. 23 – WestJet flight WS155, from Calgary to Edmonton, rows 9 to 15;
Dec. 23 – WestJet flight WS232, from Calgary to Halifax, rows 1 to 5;
Dec. 23 – Air Canada flight AC136, from Calgary to Toronto, rows 1 to 16 and 21 to 27;
Dec. 23 – Air Canada flight AC146, from Calgary to Toronto, rows 19 to 25;
Dec. 23 – WestJet flight WS652, from Calgary to Toronto, rows 14 to 20;
Dec. 22 – Air Canada/Jazz flight AC8372, from Fort McMurray (YMM) to Calgary, rows 5 to 11;
Dec. 22 – WestJet flight WS3144, from Fort McMurray (YMM) to Calgary, rows 8 to 14;
Dec. 22 – WestJet flight WS3158, from Fort McMurray (YMM) to Calgary, rows 3 to 9;
Dec. 22 – WestJet flight WS153, from Calgary to Edmonton, rows 10 to 16;
Dec. 22 – WestJet flight WS228, from Calgary to Halifax, rows 1 to 6;
Dec. 22 – Air Canada flight AC318, from Calgary to Montreal, rows 1 to 3;
Dec. 21 – Air Canada/Jazz flight AC8408, from Kelowna (YLW) to Calgary, rows 1 to 4;
Dec. 21 – Air Canada flight AC150, from Calgary to Toronto, rows 12 to 15;
Dec. 21 – WestJet flight WS662, from Calgary to Toronto, rows 15 to 21 and;
Dec. 21 – WestJet flight WS652, from Calgary to Toronto, rows 1 to 7.

International flights

Dec. 27 – WestJet flight WS1475, from Palm Springs (PSP) to Calgary, rows 1 to 3;
Dec. 24 – United Airlines flight UA4794, from Denver (DEN) to Calgary, rows 9 to 15;
Dec. 23 – WestJet flight WS1403, from Phoenix (PHX) to Calgary, rows 2 to 8;
Dec. 23 – WestJet flight WS2313, from Cancun (CUN) to Calgary, rows 19 to 25;
Dec. 23 – WestJet flight WS2247, from Puerto Vallarta (PVR) to Calgary, rows 16 to 22;
Dec. 22 – United Airlines flight UA4794, Denver (DEN) to Calgary, rows 1 to 6 and;
Dec. 22 – WestJet flight WS2313, Cancun (CUN) to Calgary, rows 10 to 16.

NEW TESTING WON'T AFFECT ALBERTA'S RAPID PILOT

A new mandatory pre-flight COVID-19 testing procedure, set to come into affect on Jan. 7, 2021, will not replace the rapid testing pilot program installed at Calgary International Airport, the Alberta government says.

The Government of Canada announced on Thursday that all travellers, aged five and up, returning to Canada will need to secure COVID-19 testing several days prior to their flight back home.

Even if the test is negative, the travellers should be prepared to quarantine at home for 14 days, as per federal regulations.

However, those returning to Canada through Calgary International Airport will still be allowed to skip the two-week quarantine, but it is going to require another two tests.

"The new pre-departure testing introduced by the federal government does not replace the need to quarantine on arrival or undergo testing if an individual wishes to be in our pilot," said Jessica Luchenko with Alberta Health.

Under the province's International Border Testing Pilot Program, travellers may submit to testing immediately upon arrival and then again on day six or seven of their prescribed quarantine period.

If they are negative on both tests, the traveller is allow to come out of isolation ahead of the 14-day period.

Luchenko says about 92 per cent of participants eligible for the second test took the option.

The remainder either chose to quarantine for the 14-day period, left the country and did not get a second test or tested positive on the first test and automatically quarantined.

According to the rules of the pilot program, all participants are allowed to withdraw at any point, but must immediately quarantine for 14 days if that is their decision.

If it is learned that a member of the pilot is not abiding by the quarantine rules, police may be notified.

"About 25 individuals have been referred to the Public Health Agency of Canada and RCMP for follow-up related to enforcement – mostly due to lapses in daily symptom checks," Luchenko says.

As of this week, all border pilot participants arriving from the U.K. or South Africa within the past two weeks must self-isolate despite any negative results. Furthermore, anyone arriving from those two nations are ineligible for the rapid testing.

More than 18,000 people have participated in the program as of Dec. 17, with a positive case rate of about 1.15 per cent between the two tests.

A further update is expected on Jan. 8, 2021.

(With files from The Canadian Press)