Researchers look for ways to detect COVID-19 ahead of busy winter travel season
By The Canadian Press on November 9, 2022.
TORONTO – As the busy winter travel season approaches, researchers are looking to use artificial intelligence at Canada’s airports to help curb the spread of COVID-19. The Innovation Economy Council held a panel Wednesday to discuss ways airports can better detect and control the spread of viruses. Members of the panel spoke about the use of wastewater surveillance to rapidly test for viruses, including the BQ 1.1 variant of COVID-19 and monkeypox. Wastewater detection has become a key way to track the spread of COVID-19 over the course of the pandemic and has been underway as part of a trial program by the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) since January. Director of safety and security for Toronto Pearson International Airport, Dwayne Macintosh also discussed Spotlight 19, a technology that uses infrared light through the fingertip to tell whether someone is infected with COVID-19. The GTAA says that Spotlight 19 is still awaiting approval from Health Canada and would be used if mandatory COVID-19 testing were to return. Ultimately, Macintosh says that it will take a layered approach from physical distancing to continued research into solutions to prevent the continued spread of viruses like COVID-19. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2022. 9-8
