Answers sought after omicron exposure scare

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This article was published 13/12/2021 (1540 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two Brandon residents unknowingly found themselves on the same flight as Manitoba’s first omicron variant case, and both have been left confused and frustrated over how their cases were handled.

Tannis Fidler had planned a holiday to Cancun with her husband Brian, along with two friends, Darren and Monique Pennell, to celebrate her friend’s 50th birthday. They booked the trip in March, hoping travel would be relatively safe again. The holiday went smoothly, she said, with everyone following protocols and getting tested for COVID.h

The trouble started when their WestJet flight was not a direct one to Winnipeg. They had to fly to Calgary, then get a connecting flight to Winnipeg.

It was on that flight between Calgary to Winnipeg they unknowingly found themselves on a flight with a person infected with the omicron variant of COVID-19.

Canadian domestic flights are not tested for COVID-19 before boarding a plane. Passengers only have to show proof of double vaccination.

They arrived home Dec. 1 and went about their lives. By Dec. 7, Fidler received an email from WestJet telling her she needed to self-quarantine because there had been a case of COVID-19 on her flight.

“At the time I thought, ‘OK, I’m at work, no big deal. By 5:15 that night, I had Health Canada calling to tell me I am to be quarantined until Dec. 14 at midnight,” she said. “They couldn’t tell me any information, but I had to go get a COVID test the next day.”

They had their test, and the man who performed it explained to them that as soon as they test negative, they can go back to work, so he was surprised they were told to isolate for that long. By Friday morning, someone from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority called to tell them there had been an omicron variant case within three rows of where they were seated.

The confusion set in for Fidler when the WRHA representative told her no one is sure what happened on the flight. Everyone was supposed to receive a standard message from the federal government over the exposure, and that didn’t happen, she said.

“Those days, we had nothing to go by,” Fidler said.

She said she was calling daily to get answers about what was happening. She was told by the WRHA representative this was the “flight that had changed the world” and they were at a higher risk, leaving her very worried and stressed out.

Equally concerning was they had been going about their lives for six days without any knowledge of their exposure.

By Dec. 10, she received word their tests were negative.

She attributed part of their protection to wearing their masks the entire flight, explaining they were too tired to have snacks, so they just left their masks on.

While she accepts that they needed to be prepared for the risk of infection, she said it was a fight to get answers over their situation. 

Darren Pennell said his experience was even more confusing. He too was told to isolate without an explanation and go get tested.

He found out about the omicron variant on the flight from news reports.

“I thought, am I one of those three potential exposures?” he said. “The information we received was wishy-washy. The person talking to us on the phone thought we were in Winnipeg, even though our information is on our paperwork and in the ARRIVECan app.”

He was told to check in every three days for updates.

He was only told on Dec. 10 his test was negative and he could return to work.

The whole ordeal has cost them peace of mind and money, Pennell said, because he and his wife missed work while isolating. The ordeal cost them several thousand dollars in fees and lost wages.

He also noticed a lot of inconsistencies in security and customs while travelling. Security staff and guards were having trouble reading through paperwork.

He added he is not questioning if this is a real public health issue, but wants to know why it is so hard to get straight answers on how big of a threat this variant really is. He had been reading social media and news reports with varying messages, from it may not be a big issue, to this could be a massive threat.

“They told Tannis this was life-changing, but told me very little,” he said. “I know it is very early, but I really wonder how big of a threat this really is.”

» kmckinley@brandonsun.com