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International travel accounts for only a small portion of new COVID-19 cases, according to public figures. But data on international travel is limited due to the absence of testing at airports, and people have continued to flow in and out of the country even as pandemic restrictions remain in place.
Over the last two weeks, government officials have identified 24 international flights entering Pearson airport with positive COVID-19 cases. Another 10 positive flights departed Toronto to other destinations, including three to Delhi. Other positive cases left Toronto for Mexico City, London and Dublin, among other destinations.
The proposal to test just over 300,000 travellers entering Pearson airport over three months is a fraction of the roughly 750,000 total travellers who arrive over the same period, according to public data.
Ontario officials in November initially proposed testing 900,000 travellers over six months, which was ultimately rejected by the federal health department, according to one provincial official.
Ontario currently has the capacity to test roughly 100,000 people per day, province-wide.
Total new infections in Ontario from travel have been sizeable, but much smaller than those caused by community spread, potentially because travel-related infections are confined to single aircraft. As of Dec. 27, a total of 3,945 travel-related COVID-19 cases had been confirmed in Ontario — 114 of which arrived in the last week.
By comparison, “community spread” has been responsible for 33,276 cases, and “close contact” cases for 71,310, according to government data.
With files from the Montreal Gazette
