As coronavirus broke out last year, 12 Canadian companies, including Air Canada and Loblaw, came together last August to start a non-profit consortium led by the University of Toronto’s Creative Destruction Lab with the sole mission to develop and implement pilots for screening of COVID-19 at workplaces across Canada.
Lab founder Ajay Agrawal told The Canadian Press that the pilot centres around companies asking employees to go through COVID-19 testing twice a week when they appear at work. The Canadian government’s slow vaccine rollout has dashed hopes of an early return to normalcy. More than 20,000 Canadians have died due to COVID-19, as second and third waves of the virus have led to periodic lockdowns, restriction and economic turmoil.
“Screening is one tool in the toolbox to help to slow the spread of COVID-19,” according to the consortium. “Even when we begin to rollout a vaccine, rapid and effective screening will continue to be required to fighting the virus.”