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Onsite Testing Will Keep Players and Staff Safe Ahead of World Junior Championship in Edmonton

RED DEER, AB, Nov. 23, 2020 /CNW/ - Canada's National Junior Team will be well prepared and safe when they participate in the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship in Edmonton this year. Advanced testing technology, based on world-leading Canadian research, is supporting Hockey Canada's commitment to keeping its players and staff safe.

Songbird Life Science is proud to support Hockey Canada in its efforts to protect athletes and staff participating in the National Junior Team Sport Chek Selection Camp that began in Alberta on Monday, November 16. A Canadian company that applies science and technology to keep people and spaces safe from pathogens, Songbird is the exclusive distributor of the Hyris bCUBE in Canada. The first point-of-care testing device approved by Health Canada in September for COVID-19, the bCUBE is portable and provides accurate results onsite in under 90 minutes.

Hockey Canada employed Hyris bCUBEs, on loan from the Canadian Olympic Committee and Own the Podium, which supports the COVID-19 Virus Finder System, to test players and staff at training centres in Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton the weekend before the National Junior Team Sport Chek Selection Camp began on Monday, November 16. With its Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)-based technology, the Hyris bCUBE deploys what the World Health Organization and the US Center for Disease Control consider to be the "gold standard" in COVID-19 testing.

Songbird Life Science's PCR-based testing was chosen to quickly and accurately identify if anyone is carrying the two genetic markers for the SARS-CoV-2 virus before they attend the selection camp. Unlike common antigen tests that are currently on the market, the Hyris bCUBE will confirm if the virus is present in anyone, including asymptomatic carriers. It also only requires one test, which is definitive. Most other rapid tests require a second test to confirm a positive result.

Anyone entering the "bubble" for Canada's National Junior Team Sport Chek Selection Camp on Monday had the confirmed assurance of a negative test that is over 95% accurate and athletes will be tested multiple times over the course of the camp. Should anyone test positive, they will be immediately quarantined and follow Alberta's public health guidelines.

Point-of-care testing has the potential to extend capabilities of provincial testing programs and is key to keeping all Canadians safe, wherever they may be located. Successfully used in places like South Korea to combat the pandemic, in Canada, the bCUBE has been selected by a number of government organizations, public agencies, companies, and health practitioners to provide remote and rapid testing. Songbird Life Science is proud to play a part in keeping Canadian athletes safe—and to keeping Canada's game going strong.   

How the bCUBE is being used:

• Testing all players, coaches and staff upon arrival
• Ongoing testing onsite during the National Junior Team Sport Chek Selection Camp

Quotes:

"Our athletes have demonstrated a lot of resiliency as they faced many setbacks this year in the lead up to the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship. Selection camps, where we can bring everyone together, especially during COVID-19, are critical for player development and team bonding. Thanks to Songbird Life Sciences' Point-of-Care testing, we are able to provide certainty that our athletes and staff are healthy as we select the team that will defend our gold medal at home in December."
– Scott Salmond, Senior Vice President, National Teams, Hockey Canada

"We are proud to play a small part in helping our National Junior Team athletes give Canada something to cheer about in 2021. This device has been robustly tested and will give reassurance to allow everyone in the Hockey Canada camp to focus on preparations on the ice. We are proud that our device is being rolled out across the country and is playing a role in keeping people safe, including our elite athletes." 
– Terry Dennis, Chairman of the Board, Songbird Life Science

About the Hyris Virus Finder system and bCUBE:

• First point-of-care device approved by Health Canada
• Based on gold standard PCR technology and world-leading Canadian research
• Accurate results in under 90 minutes

About Songbird Life Science
Songbird Life Science offers science-based solutions to keep buildings and people safe from COVID-19. As part of its risk-management services, Songbird offers onsite human and surface testing with results in minutes and advanced building science to reduce pathogen exposure and transmission. Songbird is the joint enterprise between RWDI, leading engineers in building science, and Purity-IQ, world-renowned genomic and biotechnology scientists. With an unmatched understanding of pathogens, ventilation and air quality in different industries, Songbird consultants are world-class scientists offering onsite testing with rapid results, risk evaluations, ventilation and air flow analysis, and emergency response solutions.

About Hockey Canada
Hockey Canada is the governing body for hockey in Canada and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), with a membership through its 13 member associations of over 750,000 players, coaches and officials. Hockey Canada is a not-for-profit organization that creates leading-edge hockey development programs for its members to deliver in communities across Canada; provides consistent rules and regulations and various other membership services from coast to coast to coast; manages numerous regional, national and international hockey championships and events; and leads the operation of all teams that represent Canada in international competition. Hockey Canada's mission is to lead, develop and promote positive hockey experiences. For more information on Hockey Canada, please visit HockeyCanada.ca or follow through social media on Facebook and Twitter.

SOURCE Songbird Life Science