6 More WestJet Flights Had Passengers Who Have Now Tested Positive For COVID-19
Did you travel with this Canadian airline recently? More trips have been affected by COVID-19 and passengers could be at risk. Six more coronavirus cases on WestJet flights have been confirmed, bringing the total to 14.
Late on March 17, WestJet announced that the government had advised them of six more planes that had guests on them who have now tested positive for the virus.
These additions were on March 7, March 9 and March 12 which add to the eight previously reported planes with passengers who've been confirmed as having COVID-19.
For flight WS3240 from Edmonton to Grande Prairie on March 12, the affected rows were 1 to 6.
On March 12, flight WS1447 from Las Vegas to Edmonton had someone on board with the virus and rows 2 to 8 were affected.
Also on that day, rows 32 to 38 on flight WS2311 from Cancun to Calgary were affected.
On March 9, flight WS2643 from Liberia, Costa Rica to Toronto was exposed to the virus.
Earlier, on March 7, flight WS2644 from Toronto to Liberia also had a guest with the virus.
WestJet doesn't list any affected rows for both of the trips to and from Costa Rica.
Rows 7 to 11 on flight WS3440 from Toronto to Moncton on March 7 were affected.
"The safety of our guests and crews is our top priority," the airline said in a blog post. "Guests in affected rows of [the flights] are considered close contacts and may be at risk for exposure."
If you were onboard one of these and are concerned that you've been exposed or are experiencing symptoms of the virus, WestJet wants you to contact your care provider or local public health.
If you weren't in the affected rows, just monitor yourself for signs of COVID-19 within the next 14 days.
Previously, WestJet had announced some of their planes that took off on February 28, March 3, March 5, March 10, March 11 and March 12 as having passengers who've now tested positive for the virus.
As new information becomes available about exposures to the virus, WestJet updates a blog post with details about dates, flight numbers and destinations.
On March 16, Ed Sims, president and CEO of WestJet, announced that on March 22 at 11:59 p.m. MT, all international trips will be suspended for 30 days.
After that, the airline will be working on bringing Canadians back home from international destinations for repatriation.
On March 13, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked all Canadians to avoid all non-essential travel to international destinations.
These exposures all happened before that advisory came out.