Since the beginning of September, more than 20 international flights have landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport carrying passengers with COVID-19.
The federal government publishes updated flight information daily that identifies the flight as well as the row passengers are likely to be exposed to.
According to the website, the flights arrived between September 1 and September 11 and originated from places including Mexico, the United States, Poland, Germany, India and Jamaica.
Read more: Coronavirus: How is Canada planning to enforce mandatory self-isolation?
The site also identified domestic flights where cases of coronavirus have been confirmed.
A spokesman for the Greater Toronto Airport Authority said in a statement before passengers boarded flights to Canada, that Transportation Canada requires all airlines to take passengers’ temperatures and they must provide contact information for contact tracing purposes.
“ In Pearson, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority has developed a stringent airport health program to protect passengers and workers, including increased cleaning and sterilization, physical distancing measures, and more than two kilometers of plexiglass barriers, an airport employee’s COVID-19 report indicates where and when, ” a statement said. Issued by the GTAA A potential case of COVID-19 arises and implements many innovative new technologies.
Read more: Passengers can now be tested for COVID 19 upon arrival at Pearson Airport in Toronto
Cases are expected from passengers traveling internationally, Dr. Isaac Bogush, an infectious disease specialist at Toronto General Hospital, added that it is important for passengers to follow public health guidelines and avoid unnecessary travel.
He said: “Unfortunately, this is not at all surprising … We know that there is a very high incidence of COVID-19 infection globally.”
“We have a quarantine law for a reason and it is enforced for a reason and this is because there is such a heavy burden of COVID-19 globally that it is not expected that cases in Canada will land in international travel.”
In March, the federal government published the Act in the War against COVID-19, which imposed mandatory self-isolation rules for any traveler returning to Canada with fines and even a prison sentence for those who break the rules.
Bogush said that while it is not surprising that cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed on planes traveling internationally, the risk to those on the flight is low.
He said: “If people are on a flight, domestically or internationally, and there is a case of COVID19 infection on that flight, if people adhere to public health guidelines such as wearing a mask, the risk of infection is very low.”
“It’s not zero percent, but it’s way too low for this infection to spread to others.”
On Tuesday, the Ontario government reported 251 new cases of the novel coronavirus, taking the regional total to 45,068.
On August 28, Dr Teresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health official, said people traveling internationally should gauge the risks associated with non-essential travel.
Read more: Ontario reported 251 new cases of coronavirus, nearly half of them in the Toronto and Peel Region
“If you are old, and if you suffer from underlying medical conditions, then you should think about where you started your journey from all stages to what exactly you will do at the other end.” From using public transportation, getting to the airport to walking all the way, Tam said. the journey”.
“You have to think about all the measures. Are you comfortable with the fact that these measures will protect you? If not, think carefully about whether this journey is important to you.”
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