Toronto, Ontario–February 24, 2021 – Relay Medical Corp. (CSE: RELA) (OTC: RYMDF) (FSE: EIY2) (“Relay” or the “Company“) and Fio Corporation (“Fio“) – together Fionet Rapid Response Group (“FRR”) – are pleased to announce that the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) has engaged FRR to deploy the Fionet Platform for on-site COVID-19 rapid testing and real-time reporting at Toronto – Lester B. Pearson International Airport (“Toronto Pearson”). The testing program is set to commence March 1, 2021 in support of multiple research studies supported in part by funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP).
Under the terms of the engagement, starting March 1, 2021 the Fionet digital workflow, testing, and data infrastructure will be deployed at Toronto Pearson to help manage COVID-19 testing for both passengers and employees. Commercial terms have been agreed to and the parties expect to execute definitive agreements by the announced start date. A further announcement will be made upon execution of the definitive agreements.
“This is a big step for GTAA, for Canada, and for FRR. For a long time COVID news was all about how bad it was. Then with the vaccines recently emerging, COVID news turned promising for the first time. This project with GTAA adds to the promise. We have worked hard to be a leader in harnessing the ingenuity of the private sector to fighting the pandemic on a mass scale, to help recover the well-being of people and the economy,” said Dr Michael Greenberg, CEO of Fionet Rapid Response Group and of Fio Corporation.
“Toronto Pearson Airport has a strong history of protecting our employees and the many tens of millions of people passing through our facilities yearly. With this new program, we add the biosecurity measures necessary to function in this new reality. FRR has been an instrumental partner in making this possible,” said Mr. Dwayne Macintosh, Director of Safety and Security at GTAA.
The Fionet Platform will manage patient scheduling, rapid test processing, real-time results reporting, integration with LuminUltra PCR devices, Response Biomedical antigen rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and devices, Abbott Panbio antigen RDTs, and all corresponding data and messaging flows. Fionet’s high-throughput testing solution, including multiple mobile point-of-need devices connected in real-time to cloud data-services, the deployment will be capable of supporting mass testing in a high-volume commercial environment. The program will use Abbott’s Panbio rapid antigen test, provided by the Province of Ontario. The Fionet Platform will enable easy passenger scheduling and registration from mobile phones followed by coordinated mass testing, while continuously capturing and securely transmitting test results, with full privacy protection.
To provide professional healthcare staff to administer tests and operate diagnostic devices, FRR is contracting OnPoint1 Health. For medical oversight of the project, FRR is contracting Medevaq Inc., headed Dr. Eddie Wasser, Chief Medical Officer of the GTAA.
“The GTAA is one of the City of Mississauga’s strongest partners and this study demonstrates its strong commitment to protecting the thousands of Mississauga residents who work at Pearson, as well as their families,” said Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie. “What makes this study particularly important is that its findings could be applicable to other work settings, not only in Mississauga but across Ontario and the entire country.”
Toronto Pearson is Canada’s largest and busiest airport, serving more than 50 million passengers in 2019, and one of only four airports accepting international flights into Canada. This announcement comes on the heels of the Government of Canada’s new requirements for mandatory arrivals testing and hotel quarantine for international travellers coming into Canada. In addition, effective January, the CDC announced all air passengers coming to the United States, including U.S. citizens, are required to have a negative COVID-19 test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before they board a flight to the United States.
“Widespread rapid testing combined with real-time data tracking can be a powerful tool for organizations of any industry to proactively screen individuals and help prevent virus transmission. Combined with other public health measures, this can help communities begin to reopen with confidence. We look forward to making our innovative testing solutions more broadly available to many more organizations supporting a safe return to daily life,” said Yoav Raiter, CEO, Relay Medical Corp.
With this engagement, FRR is well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for mass scale rapid COVID-19 testing solutions in industries that have been crippled by restrictions due to the pandemic. There is growing pressure to ramp up rapid testing capacity at places like airports, border crossings, cruise ships, arenas, workplaces, and schools. This has become increasingly important with multiple reports of a new, faster spreading COVID-19 variant making its ways around the world.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Destine Lee media@relaymedical.com | 647-872-9982
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About GTAA
The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) is the operator of Toronto Pearson International Airport. Toronto Pearson served more than 50 million passengers in 2019, making it Canada’s busiest airport.
Website: https://www.torontopearson.com
About Relay Medical Corp.
Relay Medical is a MedTech innovation Company headquartered in Toronto, Canada focused on the development of novel technologies in the diagnostics and AI data science sectors.
Website: www.relaymedical.com
About Fio Corporation
Fio Corporation, privately held and headquartered in Toronto, developed and markets the world’s first integrated guidance & tracking IT platform for decentralized healthcare settings, a new category of solution that raises healthcare quality and lowers healthcare costs. The platform enables average healthcare workers in clinics to deliver a new level of quality-controlled diagnostic testing and case management. Simultaneously, as an automated by-product of its clinical use, the platform captures and provides unprecedented frontline data to remote supervisors and stakeholders, enabling real-time remote tracking, insight distribution, and intervention. Fio operates globally in partnership with local distribution, service, and support organizations and also partners with other companies that license its technologies.
Website: www.fionetrapidresponse.com