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137 COVID-infected flights landed in Canada in first week of August

Last Updated Aug 11, 2021 at 11:22 am MDT

TORONTO – The number of COVID-19-infected airline passengers who have landed on Canadian soil this month is already on track to surpass last month’s total.

In the first week of August, 137 international flights landed in Canada carrying passengers who tested positive for COVID-19.

In July, there were over 400 COVID-positive flights, according to Postmedia.

The Toronto Sun reported most of the 435 flights (133) arrived from the U.S., with Los Angeles leading by Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Denver, and Chicago.

Amsterdam topped the infection rate for overseas planes at 31, but double-digit numbers were from Paris, Istanbul, Frankfurt, Mexico City, and London.


RELATED: More than 400 international flights to Canada in July carried positive COVID-19 cases: report


The bulk of the infected passengers landed in Toronto and Montreal.

“It’s very surprising because before you board the flight you have to do the test right? And you have to be negative to board,” said one flyer arriving in Toronto from Israel.

Since the beginning of the year, anyone flying into Canada has been required to provide a negative COVID-19 test before being allowed to board a plane.

It’s unclear how many infected passengers were vaccinated or how many were in quarantine when they got on their flights.

The Public Health Agency of Canada recently issued fines to two passengers arriving in Toronto from the U.S. during the week of July 18 for non-compliance with entry requirements.

“They’re negative when they took the test and then maybe over the day, or whatever it is until they got on the flight they caught it,” theorized another passenger.

Before a ban on flights from India went into effect in April, the highest monthly total of COVID-inflected flights was 287, but Canada is well above that now.


RELATED: Some federal workers in Canada may be required to get COVID-19 vaccine: Trudeau


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is considering making COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for some federally regulated workplaces such as airlines.

Trudeau says he fully supports that plan and that the government is in discussions with the federal public service about whether there are some categories where vaccination should be made mandatory.