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COVID 19 rapid test study launches at YVR


November 29, 2020  By The Canadian Press

WestJet Q400. (Photo: Bombardier)

A study has launched to investigate the safest and most efficient way to rapidly test for COVID-19 in people taking off from the Vancouver airport.

The airport authority says the study that got underway Friday at WestJet’s domestic check-in area is the first of its kind in Canada.

The Calgary and Toronto airports have hosted studies to test passengers who are arriving, rather than departing, using the Health Canada-approved PCR test.

The study in B.C. involves researchers from the University of British Columbia and Providence Health Care, who are responsible for collecting the samples.

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The airport authority says in a statement a positive rapid test result does not constitute a medical diagnosis for COVID-19 and those who test positive would have to undergo testing approved by Health Canada, with their flights cancelled or changed at no charge.

Dr. Don Sin, co-principal investigator and a professor at UBC’s faculty of medicine, says the study will help public health leaders understand how people who don’t have symptoms of COVID-19 are contributing to the spread of the illness.

News from © Canadian Press Enterprises Inc., 2020

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