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TORONTO — As the busy winter season approaches, investigators are looking to use synthetic intelligence and surveillance technologies at Canadian airports to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
Nearly six weeks ago, the Canadian government lifted pandemic restrictions, cutting vaccine and mask mandates.
However, as the flu season begins to accentuate and the BQ1. 1 variant of COVID-19 spreads, the way to restrict transmission at airports remains as the holiday season approaches.
The Innovation Economy Council tries to answer this in its most recent report and discussed its findings on a panel on Wednesday.
Panel members discussed using wastewater tracking for viruses, adding the BQ 1. 1 variant and monkeypox.
Sewage detection has become a key way to track the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and has been underway as a component of a Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) testing program since January.
The pilot collects wastewater samples from planes landing at Pearson International Airport for experts to look for new strains of COVID-19, identifying the spread earlier than with classic testing.
One of the biggest benefits of wastewater tracking is that it is cost-effective and can detect express variants of COVID-19, said Robert Delatolla, a professor of environmental engineering at the University of Ottawa.
On the panel, Dwayne Macintosh, Pearson’s director of safety and security, also talked about Spotgentle 19, a generation that uses infrared light through its fingertip to find out if it’s infected with COVID-19.
Spotlight 19, developed through ISBRG, a Toronto-based knowledge analytics company, is still awaiting approval from Health Canada and would be used if mandatory COVID-19 returned, GTAA said.
“Imagine checking COVID-19 and locating a result in 10 to 20 seconds,” Macintosh said.
Kamran Kahn, CEO of BlueDot, said in the report that any new techniques for detecting or tracking COVID-19 or other microbes will need to be thoroughly and consistently evaluated to make sure the result justifies the means.
He said that the measures are easy to take, but they must be renounced.
Ultimately, it will require a layered technique from physical distancing to continuously seeking answers to prevent the continued spread of viruses like COVID-19, Macintosh said.
This Canadian Press report was first published on November 9, 2022.
The Canadian Press
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