Air Canada, Rogers and Suncor part of consortium piloting rapid COVID-19 testing

Canadian space technology and robotics giant MDA will begin offering its workers rapid COVID-19 testing at its Brampton, Ont., headquarters starting Tuesday, the latest company in a consortium of some of the country's biggest firms testing workplace screening. The pilot is being run by the University of Toronto's Creative Destruction Lab, which has partnered with 12 companies including some of Canada's top airlines, banks and sports teams to experiment with antigen tests that take about 15 minutes to deliver results. Those behind the project believe it could give Canada's corporate world a road map to quelling the spread of COVID-19 in workplaces that have had to close or have struggled to contain outbreaks. “It's a tool to be able to reopen parts of the economy and not have these broad range closures,” said Holly Johnson, MDA's director of business operations. The rapid testing at MDA is a voluntary program and is offered on top of mandatory COVID-19 protocols that are already in place, such as symptom screening, temperature testing, physical distancing and masks, Johnson said. Rogers Communications Inc. and Air Canada were the first two companies to begin the testing.<br/>