Infected international flights on the rise
The number of planes landing at Canada's airports with COVID-19 infected passengers is on the rise.
Health Canada reported that as of July 20, 161 flights landed carrying passengers who tested positive for COVID-19 so far this month.
That's compared to 111 during the first 20 days of June, and 78 from May 1 to 20.
Mexican airports are Canada's largest source of overseas Covid-infected flights this month, with 14 reported departing from Mexico City and Cancun.
That was followed by Amsterdam and Istanbul with 13, Paris and Doha, Qatar, with 12, London with eight, Casablanca with seven, and the United Arab Emirates with six.
Airports in Cuba saw five departures, three each from Frankfurt, Warsaw, Panama, Pakistan and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and two flights each from Manila, Seoul, Tokyo and Tunis, the capital of Tunisia.
Thirty-seven infected flights from the United States have touched down on Canadian soil so far in July, up from just nine by June 20 and 17 by May 20.
Travellers flying into Canada — currently only open to citizens, permanent residents and those whose travel is deemed essential — must present a recent negative COVID-19 test before being allowed to board their flight.
Direct passenger flights from India have been banned from Canadian airports since April 22. Those from India arriving via indirect flights must obtain a negative COVID-19 PCR test at their last port of entry before departing for Canada.
Health Canada doesn't make public the number of infected passengers on each flight, providing only a range within two or three rows of where infected passengers supposedly sat.
As well, Health Canada's data only relates to the city and airport each flight originated from; no information is available on individual cases, their nationality or when they began their journeys.