Precision Biomonitoring Partners with Shared Value Solutions to Bring COVID-19 Point-of-Need Testing Capabilities to Northern Indigenous Communities

Collaboration to Provide Rapid SARS-CoV-2 Go-Strips to Communities in Northern Ontario

GUELPH, ON and MISSISSAUGA, ON, April 9, 2020 /CNW/ - Precision Biomonitoring, an industry leader in offering point-of-need molecular detection tools for rapid results on the spot, has announced its partnership with Guelph-based environmental consulting firm, Shared Value Solutions, to bring its point-of-need SARS-CoV-2 Go-Strips and rapid mobile detection device to Indigenous communities in northern Ontario, in response to COVID-19.

"We are all in this together," says Dr. Mario Thomas, CEO, Precision Biomonitoring. "For Canada to be successful in both flattening the curve and eventually combatting the virus, we need to ensure that all Canadians are receiving access to necessary tools, especially communities who are most vulnerable. Our rapid point-of-need solution is designed to do just that."

At present, the delivery of COVID-19 test results can take up to seven days in northern road-connected communities and can take even longer in more remote communities. With the ability to administer nine tests per hour at the point-of-need and deliver results in about 60 minutes, the 1.2 kg battery-operated, mobile COVID-19 test solution will help to increase testing speed and capacity. 

Precision Biomonitoring's SARS-CoV-2 Go-Strips are currently awaiting expedited approval from Health Canada. Shared Value Solutions is hopeful that it will be able to provide this testing technology to northern Indigenous communities in Ontario and across Canada in the near future, immediately following Health Canada approval.

The collaborative efforts of Precision Biomonitoring and Shared Value Solutions will help to address the growing number of cases in First Nations and Inuit communities, as recently confirmed by Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), while also supporting the federal government's commitment to the well-being of these vulnerable populations, as made evident by the new distinctions-based Indigenous Community Support Fund to address immediate needs related to COVID-19.

"From creating a hand sanitizer supply chain for the north to offering free support to First Nations departments operating with limited capacity, we are doing everything we possibly can to support our clients' greatest needs during this crisis. This new rapid testing option fills a crucial part of that need," says Scott Mackay, CEO, Shared Value Solutions. "To be able to provide support alongside the dedicated team at Precision Biomonitoring, who already shares an interest in issues important to Indigenous communities, including environmental protection, makes us truly confident that this collaboration will provide the innovative care and testing desperately needed in these communities."

About Precision Biomonitoring 
Founded in 2016 by a team of scientists from the University of Guelph's Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, Precision Biomonitoring provides TripleLock™ onsite eDNA surveillance platform solutions that give customers earlier detection of organisms for a more rapid response. Customers are any organizations that need onsite surveillance and rapid identification of any organism in any environment. The Precision Biomonitoring team is at the forefront of technological innovations in the genomics industry. Our vision is a world where we can identify any organism on the spot, in an instant, anywhere on the planet. 

About Shared Value Solutions
Shared Value Solutions (SVS) is an environmental and community development consulting firm based in Ontario with employees also based in British Columbia, Alberta and New Brunswick. Our team works for and with Indigenous nations across Canada, providing technical guidance, regulatory advice, environmental peer reviews, negotiation and business strategy, and various supporting studies in relation to resource and infrastructure projects in our clients' territories. Our company is made up of an interdisciplinary group of environmental scientists, planners, anthropologists and social researchers, and community engagement practitioners with a wide range of experience working for Indigenous communities, tribal councils and governments across the country. At the core of SVS's work is the integration of environmental, social, cultural, economic values, advocacy for community health and well-being, and the protection of the environment and Indigenous rights.

SOURCE Precision Biomonitoring

Acceptance, mindfulness, breathing techniques bring calm

Therapists share techniques to care for mental health during COVID-19

                  (April 9, 2020) – Over the past few weeks, the lives of billions of people around the globe have been irrevocably changed. People are fearful that they will contract the virus, worried about finances and feeling isolated.  Everyone is adjusting to changes to their daily routines and a sense of uncertainty as to what comes next. 

                    In these uncertain times, it is more important than ever to take small steps to maintain your mental health, says Amy Shuman, a Licensed and Independent Clinical Social Worker (LISCW) and a trainer with ART International, a nonprofit devoted to increasing access to mental health care. 

                   “One thing that can really make a huge difference is to create a schedule for your day. Whether you are elderly, taking care of little kids, or are living alone, the world is not going to feel so big and scary when you have a to-do list.”  She continues by suggesting that if you find yourself with extra free time, this can be a great opportunity to tackle a project you have long put off. In contrast, if you find yourself especially busy, she points out that it is important to schedule time for relaxation and self-care. 

                   When feelings of anxiety arise, Shuman suggests using deep breathing, meditation, or mindfulness. If you are able to go outside, try to spend time in nature every day, and mentions that exercise is also excellent for managing anxiety. She states, “Challenge yourself to stay present in the moment. Tune into your senses and observe what you are seeing or hearing. That helps quiet the mind and calm anxiety and depression.” 

                  Because we are maintaining physical distance from others does not mean we need to practice emotional distance, Shuman says. She believes that connecting with others is more important than ever and suggests that calling, texting, or sending letters to relatives, friends, and neighbors can be very helpful. Another great option is to set-up virtual gatherings via videoconferencing.

                    Checking in on neighbors, especially people who are elderly or have health problems, is also helpful in staying connected. Shuman suggests to ask yourself, “Is there anything I could do to help them?” “Helping other people boosts your mental health,” says Shuman. Look for volunteer opportunities near you. Could you sew masks for healthcare workers? Read stories to children through video chat? Bring donations to a food bank?

                    Shuman advises to remember to follow regular guidelines for health. Fill up on vegetables, fruit, and lean proteins, and to try to avoid eating junk food as a way of coping with stress. It is also important to avoid turning to alcohol during this stressful time. Alcohol is a depressant, and additionally, excessive drinking can suppress the immune system. 

                   She also suggests keeping a gratitude journal and starting the day by writing five things you are thankful for. They can be small things, such as the light falling on the carpet or the budding tree outside your window.

                “Try to shift from worrying about the future to just noticing the present moment," says Shuman.  "That’s the way the yogis have been maintaining calm for thousands of years.” ​​​​​​

                To schedule an interview with Shuman or another therapist in your area affiliated with ART International, please contact Julie Scharper at Hillman Communications, jscharper@hillmanpr.com. For more information about ART, you may also visit ARTherapyInternational.org. 

Precision NanoSystems Appoints Dr. Andrew Geall as Chief Scientific Officer

VANCOUVER, April 8, 2020 /CNW/ - Precision NanoSystems (PNI), a global leader in enabling transformative nanomedicines today announced the appointment of Dr. Andrew Geall as the company's Chief Scientific Officer (CSO). Dr. Geall has over 20 years' experience in the development of drug delivery systems and is a pioneer in the development of rapid response RNA vaccines.  

"Dr. Geall is a scientific leader who brings industry knowledge and deep expertise in developing RNA nanoparticle vaccines and therapeutics. With so many working tirelessly on Coronavirus vaccines and COVID therapeutics Andy will be able to immediately impact PNI and our clients due to his wealth of knowledge," said Dr. James Taylor, CEO and Co-Founder of PNI. "PNI is working with over 120 leading biopharmaceutical companies to develop vaccines, gene therapies, and small molecule formulations. Under Andrew's scientific leadership, we will accelerate our development cutting edge drug manufacturing and delivery technologies and build drug development collaborations with our partners."

Prior to joining PNI, Dr. Geall was RNA Vaccine Platform leader at Novartis Vaccines, where for 7 years he pioneered nanoparticle delivery of self-amplifying mRNA Vaccines in multiple disease targets and established the utility of the platform for pandemic rapid response. To support this work, Dr. Geall secured and was the Principle Investigator of a major contract from the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency. Most recently, Dr. Geall was member of Avidity Biosciences Executive Management Team, which established an antibody oligonucleotide conjugate platform, enabling clinical applications and collaborative partnerships in rare muscle diseases.

"Through my 20 years of developing advanced therapeutics, I have seen the challenges of transitioning nanomedicines research into development and then to patients. I have used the PNI platform in multiple projects and multiple companies since 2008. It represents a significant leap forward, allowing gene therapies, RNA vaccines, and advanced small molecule formulations to be rapidly developed and the platform is accessible to all drug developers," said Dr. Geall, CSO of PNI. "I have been on the PNI Scientific Advisory Board since 2017 and I'm very excited to have the opportunity to expand my role to work with the team and our global biopharmaceutical clients."   

About Precision NanoSystems Inc. 

Precision NanoSystems Inc. (PNI) proprietary NanoAssemblr Platform enables the rapid, reproducible, and scalable manufacture of next generation nanoparticle formulations for the targeted delivery of therapeutic and diagnostic agents to cells and tissues in the body. PNI provides instruments, reagents and services to life sciences researchers, including pharmaceutical companies, and builds strategic collaborations to revolutionize healthcare through nanotechnology. For more information, visit www.precisionnanosystems.com.

SOURCE Precision Nanosystems

April 16th is National Advance Care Planning Day

www.advancecareplanning.ca has free resources to help Canadians plan ahead

OTTAWA, April 8, 2020 /CNW/ - Today is the day! A life well lived is a life well planned.

April 16^th is National Advance Care Planning Day, a day to promote conversations about your wishes and values for your future health care. While we are excited to share news surrounding ACP Day, we must first acknowledge the challenges that we are facing with the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

As the WHO-declared pandemic, COVID-19 progresses, this is a very concerning time for many people with serious conditions and palliative care needs, as well as their families, friends and communities. The situation is ever-changing, and we encourage everyone to pay attention to the public health experts that are directing our response here in Canada.

Sharon Baxter, Executive Director of Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association states, "This is a challenging time for everyone and those working in hospice palliative care are being stretched but have repeatedly risen to the occasion to provide good care for those approaching death and supporting their family and friends during this time of grief and bereavement.  We will continue to advocate for universal access, and we will stand together to benefit all." This mindset remains true for Advance Care Planning Day.

This year's Advance Care Planning Day is based on the theme that a Life Well Lived is a Life Well Planned. Laurel Gillespie, Director of the initiative says, "Having an Advance Care Plan will help to ensure your values and wishes are respected should you be unable to express them yourself one day. Today is the Day! Between 6 and 8 pm, take the opportunity to speak with your loved ones about your values, wishes and what is important to you."                                                                    

Canadians have spoken, and although 80% of the population believes Advance Care Planning is important, less than 1 in 5 Canadians have an Advance Care Plan. 

Talk to those around you. It's not always easy; some need help to begin these difficult conversations. The "Speak Up" initiative has a website (www.advancecareplanning.ca) full of information, tools, and prompts to help with starting these conversations. There are also links to resources for specific provinces and territories because the process of expressing values and wishes differs across the country.

New this year, we are hosting an online fireside chat. Join Yvonne Heath (Founder of the #IJustShowedUp movement) and Laurel Gillespie for a special virtual event at 4PM Eastern on April 16^th. During this hour-long session, participants will learn about grief. Yvonne will share tips on how, even during physical distancing, we can Just Show Up for ourselves and each other. We are also excited to announce that Behind The Scenes, a short-form documentary focusing on the history of Advance Care Planning in Canada will begin airing this April. Hosted by Laurence Fishburne, the documentary will be broadcasted across Canada as well as the entirety of the United States. Another exciting project being released this year is a song called "Say", written and performed by award winning Canadian artist Tara Shannon. The Pan Canadian National Framework, as well as the Legal and Public Toolkits have also been updated and re-released.

Don't leave your loved ones in the space between guessing and knowing: have a conversation. A life well lived is a life well planned. You can share inspiring conversations and stories using the hashtags #ACPDay2020, and #YourCareYourWishes. 

Advance Care Planning in Canada would like to recognize and thank our funders, Health Canada and GSK for their support throughout this initiative. 

The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) is a member of the National Advance Care Planning Task Group, comprised of representatives from a number of organizations and professions across Canada. 

SOURCE Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association

Made in America
By Jenna MacSwain

In what messed up universe is being called Pocahontas an insult?  Reading the recent letter from members of the Cherokee Nation to Senator Warren, I have been cast into reflection; and I have looked back through the three-pound hardcover edition of the compilation Three American Indian Women: “Sarah Winnemucca” by Gae Whitney Canfield, “Sacajawea” by Harold P. Howard, and “Pocahontas” by Grace Steele Woodward.

I understand and hear the objections of the authors of the letter to Senator Warren. Claims are very potent instruments of power and self-determination, of possession and property, of means of survival for a group of people.  As my mother’s daughter, I also understand that for an individual, claims are also powerful as our tie to history and family, our sense of identity, and in certain circumstances, a means of survival.  My mother is like Senator Warren, born in Oklahoma half a generation earlier. Senator Warren’s family had the power and privilege to pass down the story of their Cherokee ancestors through six or more generations, told parent to child at an early age in hopes that those ancestors would not be forgotten—a story that Senator Warren’s generation feels safe to tell openly.  In contrast, my mother’s family used silence and denial to hide an ancestry that was plainly written on our faces.  For a person of mixed ancestry, throughout our nation’s history, being claimed by father, by family, by tribe, could mean life or death.  My family’s story is lifted from national census information from the late 1800s and into the twentieth century and disassembled from false stories told to keep children from being taken.  As I attempt to speak of the complex yin and yang of pressing a claim for a Nation of People versus being claimed as an individual, it may seem that I am playing a game of semantics and that these are two very different definitions of the word claim.  They are not, and I am not.  These are two low dimensional slices through the highly complex structure of history, slices taken from different angles.

Senator Warren is not the only public figure to make claims of Native American ancestry.  Perhaps the “easy button” soundbite to call Senator Warren Pocahontas was influenced by prior incidences.  Winston Churchill at one point purported to be related to Pocahontas.  This unsubstantiated story was furthered by his son, who, on a trip to South Africa, incensed when asked to specify his race, wrote: “Race: human.  But if your object is to determine whether I have colored blood in my veins, I am most happy to be able to inform you that I do, indeed, so have. This is derived from one of my most revered ancestors, the Indian Princess Pocahontas, of whom you may not have heard, but who was married to a Jamestown settler named John Rolfe.”  There was also Wayne Newton’s campaign in the early part of this century to use forensic anthropology to find Pocahontas’s bones and bring her home from Grave’s End Church in England, where she was buried in 1617.  So strong was the pull of the story of his Algonquin ancestral connection passed down to him, and the force of the mythology of a woman who was Amonute, nicknamed Pocahontas, and the force of the personality and accomplishments of the real human being who lived over four hundred years ago.

Pocahontas’s life overlapped that of the English settlers of Jamestown by only ten years.  When she met John Smith, she was somewhere between eight and twelve years old.  He was an adventurer and soldier of fortune who claimed to have ten years of experience fighting in Europe, Africa, and Asia.  Many of the twenty-six-year-old Smith’s claims were viewed with skepticism by his contemporaries.  If he had any experience as a mercenary in Africa or Asia, it seems logical that he may have honed the technique of befriending a child emissary to learn the language and rough outlines of the local culture; a child who was old enough to be attracted by his charisma, but young enough not to have an agenda of her own—at least not initially.  Historical accounts paint a picture of Pocahontas befriending nearly every one of the more than one-hundred original Jamestown settlers.  There is doubt cast on John Smith’s story of her saving his life with a dramatic intervention, but there are archival accounts of her saving the lives of others of the colony, and credit given to the mature young woman for the overall survival of the colony.  I read settlers’ descriptions of her, a stunningly intelligent adolescent, curious about the strange stunted and bearded creatures who were building their structures in a place previously abandoned due to the frequency of hurricane landfall.  She is unstoppable in the face of her family and community’s antagonism toward the new arrivals.  Older generations of her tribe and their neighbors had already seen a hundred years of pirate ships and English privateers stealing their young boys to be sold into slavery in the Caribbean while leaving behind the curse of influenza and smallpox.

I think of the ruminations that I have seen recently by David Brooks, Ezra Klein, and Malcolm Gladwell about identity, community, and tribe.  Ezra and Malcolm spoke to each other about the facets of identity that we claim in current day life in the United States and how easily these are manipulated by others and by our own fears and sense of being under attack.  David Brooks described how in the United States, we have moved from a community-focused people in the 1930s, to an individual-focused people in the 1960s and 1970s, and are now transitioning to a tribe-focused people whose tribalism manifests in all aspects of our lives, particularly in politics.  I think also about DNA.  Nearly all the base pairs that make up the human genome are identical in everyone.  It is only the tiniest fraction of our DNA that makes us uniquely individuals.  Our DNA is the only truly objective written human history, and it is a history told globally and collectively by all of us.

• Ezra Klein with Malcolm Gladwell: Why We’re Polarized:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1PA7mOhQ4Y
• David Brooks: The Quest for Deeper Meaning:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG6KsronKLc
• Nashville (2). Joyful Humbug: Churchill’s “Indian Forebears”:  https://richardlangworth.com/nashville2-indian-forebears
• Three American Indian Women: Pocahontas, Sacajawea, Sarah Winnemucca of the Northern Paiutes:  https://www.biblio.com/9781567310894
• A Quest by a Dream Team to Bring Pocahontas Home:  https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-apr-12-cl-18515-story.html
• Just about everything you’ve read on the Warren DNA test is wrong:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/10/18/just-about-everything-youve-read-warren-dna-test-is-wrong/

Jenna MacSwain was a scientist and engineer before turning to writing fiction.  She attended Caltech and Berkeley and worked for the kind of companies that aspired to build things like HAL9000 and the Holodeck.  Jenna is the author of A Slow Leap into the Sky, a novel about sex, love, and billion-dollar ideas in the beginning days of Silicon Valley.  She now lives in Cambridge, MA and studies block chains, quaternions, and quantum dots while dreaming of stories filled with brilliant and inspiring women.  For more information, visit www.aslowleapintothesky.com.

Virtually Celebrate Earth Day’s 50^th Anniversary

In celebration of Earth Day’s 50^th Anniversary, Women’s Voice magazine, and The Non-GMO Project will stream the James Beard Award-winning documentary film Modified for FREE as part of their ongoing commitment to education. 

In Modified, the filmmaker Aube Giroux, and her mother embark on a personal and poignant investigative journey to find out why genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are not adequately labeled on food products in the United States and Canada, despite being labeled in 64 countries around the world.

Shot over a span of ten years, the film explores the impacts of genetically engineering our food, exposing the cozy relationship between the agribusiness industry and our governments. The film is anchored around the intimate story of the filmmaker’s relationship to her mom, a gardener, seed saver, and food activist who battled cancer while the film’s production was underway. 

Interweaving the personal and the political, the film uses family video, animations, and mouthwatering vignettes from the filmmaker’s award-winning PBS cooking show to create a visual celebration of homegrown food and family legacy. 

Modified has been the official selection at over 70 international film festivals and now audiences can enjoy it from the comfort of their own home where it will be streaming from April 15^th up until Earth Day, on the 22^nd at womensvoice.com/modified. 

Earth Day 2020 will be remembered as a defining moment in history, as no one on earth will gather. However, we can band together and watch this family friendly movie in our homes and across the globe to virtually celebrate Earth Day 2020. 

The filmmaker Aube Giroux is available for interviews. 

The movie trailer can be viewed here - https://youtu.be/p7MifQG8deM 

ABOUT: 

Aube Giroux (writer, director, producer) is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, organic gardener, and food blogger. Aube is the creator of “Kitchen Vignettes”, an online farm-to-table cooking show on PBS which received the 2012 Saveur Magazine Best Food Blog Award and is a two-time James Beard Award nominee. Aube holds an MFA in Film Production from York University. She has directed two films for the National Film Board of Canada and several independent productions. Modified is her first feature-length documentary.

The Non-GMO Project is a nonprofit organization committed to preserving and building sources of non-GMO products, educating consumers, and providing verified non-GMO choices. We believe that everyone has a right to know what is in their food and deserves access to non-GMO choices. The Non-GMO Project is governed by a Board of Directors. We also work with a collaborative network of technical and expert advisors from a broad and diverse range of backgrounds and sectors.

Women’s Voice Magazine is committed to providing our readers with real health solutions from real physicians. To ensure our editorial excellence, we have assembled medical professionals who are dedicated experts and leaders in natural health to serve on Women’s Voice Medical and Science Editorial Advisory Committee.

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In the era of COVID-19, mental health matters more than ever

Statement
From Mental Health Commission of Canada

OTTAWA, April 8, 2020 /CNW/ - Last week, the Government of Ontario released projections around the spread and transmission of COVID-19 that painted a stark picture for the residents of the province.  

A few days earlier, the White House released the result of its own modelling on the spread and mortality rate of the novel coronavirus. Even in the in the best-case scenario, the U.S. numbers were staggering.  

While transparency is needed to provide context to the extraordinary public health measures taken around the world, it is also important to recognize that publicizing such scenarios is likely to cause heightened fear and anxiety for many.

The question becomes: what can we do about it? 

First, its important to remember that we are all reacting to an extraordinarily abnormal situation, and while our responses and experiences will be different, we know that they will be heightened.  If you find yourself struggling today, or any day, don't hesitate to reach out to a colleague, friend or health professional. 

At this moment in time, we have perhaps never had more in common. So please remember, physical distancing doesn't mean social isolation.

The Federal Government has invested new money in crisis lines – a crucial means to support all of us during these challenging times. We're also seeing the rapid adoption of e-mental health technologies, which we know can be just as effective as face-to-face alternatives.

Right now, I encourage you to take a page out of our Working Mind Training, and allow yourself to process new and upsetting information in small, digestible pieces. There is nothing wrong with taking a one-day-at-a-time approach to managing the mental health challenges associated with COVID-19. 

And there should be no expectation that you'll be coping with this global health emergency while acquiring a new skill or rediscovering a hobby.  Leave your guilt at the door.

To those in essential services right now, from front line health providers, to grocery store and gas station clerks, you have my deepest gratitude and my utmost respect. 

My advice to my own staff, who are struggling with the realities of remote work and child-rearing, who are caring for elderly or disabled loved ones, or who are managing an existing mental health concern, is to pause, when you can, to find the bright spots. 

We are, very much, in this together. And if we prioritize our mental health with the same diligence we wash our hands, we may emerge on the other side better equipped to cope with life's daily challenges than we've ever been.

Louise Bradley
President and CEO, Mental Health Commission of Canada

Learn More

• MHCC Resource Hub: Mental health and wellness during the COVID-19 pandemic

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SOURCE Mental Health Commission of Canada

THE TORONTO CARIBBEAN CARNIVAL CANCELLED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 52 YEARS TO HELP PREVENT THE SPREAD OF COVID-19

(TORONTO, ON – April 9^th, 2020) - The Board of Directors of the Festival Management Committee has decided that due to the continued developments concerning the spread of COVID-19, the severe public health threat, and global health crisis, the month-long events held in July-August is cancelled.

The events include the Festival Launch, Junior King and Queen Show, Junior Parade, Adult King and Queen Show, Pan Alive, and Grand Parade.

In consultation with our stakeholders, which includes the Bandleaders, Ontario Steelpan Association,(OSA)  Organization of Calypso Performing Artists, (OCPA) as well as our partners  and other related cultural organizations, and taking into consideration the Mass Crowds that attend the Events present a tremendous risk regarding the spread of the virus. It is therefore unanimous that the priority must be the health and safety of our patrons and having weighed all these considerations, there is no choice but to cancel this year's festival.  

It is our responsibility to the City and our patrons to encourage social distancing, hand washing, and self-isolation to support the efforts of our first responders and essential workers who are at the frontline of the COVID-19 containment.

For the past fifty-two (52) years, the Toronto Caribbean Carnival (formerly Caribana) has delivered an exciting summer festival featuring elaborate costumes, Caribbean music, and food in our Grand Parade. This festival is a labor of love, created by our extraordinary talented artistic stakeholders, and supported by participants, and volunteers, who begin preparation for the spectacular King and Queen Show and the Grand Parade six-months in advance of the scheduled events.

Given the importance and economic value of this festival to the City, the Province, the Federal government, the Tourism Industry, and our community, we will work with our stakeholders and the community to assist the City with the recovery efforts. Should the circumstances change, and permit restrictions lifted by July 1, 2020, we will seek to celebrate together in a non-traditional format the weekend of August 1, 2020.

We want to take this opportunity to thank the frontline professionals who risk their lives by making tremendous sacrifices to keep us safe.

On behalf of the Festival Management Committee, thank you for your continued support.

For more information visit: https://torontocarnival.ca/ and follow on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

###

Toronto Caribbean Carnival Festival 

The Toronto Caribbean Carnival, formerly known as "Caribana" was established in 1967 as part of Canada's 100th Anniversary celebrations by Caribbean immigrants as a cultural gift to Canada. 

The Toronto Caribbean Carnival is produced by the Festival Management Committee showcasing the best in Caribbean arts, it is known as the largest cultural festival of its kind in North America.

The Caribbean Canadian community that inspires and gives life to the Toronto Caribbean Carnival Festival is comprised of Canadians with heritage taken from Barbados, Bahamas, Guyana, Grenada, Jamaica, Haiti, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and the other countries of the Caribbean.

HealthSpace Deploys Automated Contact Tracing Platform for Agencies in British Columbia and Washington - Helping to "Flatten The Curve" for COVID-19

VANCOUVER, April 8, 2020 /CNW/ - HealthSpace Data Systems Ltd. (the "Company" or "HealthSpace") (CSE:HS) (Frankfurt:38H) (OTC:HDSLF) is pleased to announce it has begun deploying its contact tracing platform, for COVID-19, with Okanogan County Public Health in Washington and Vancouver Island Health Authority.

After its initial outreach to existing customers regarding COVID-19, the Company learned of the growing need to scale contact tracing efforts for public health departments.  Contact tracing is a process employed by epidemiologists world-wide that enables them to retrace the steps of a person testing positive for COVID-19 and track anyone who may have had direct contact with them.  These agencies then embark on a painstaking process of interviewing each of the potential contacts, calling them daily for a set period of time to monitor if they exhibit any symptoms.

HealthSpace has since extended its HSCloud Suite and My Health Department products to serve as a fully automated contact tracing platform. This new platform replaces the manual process of calling each individual contact with an automated system that sends out a unique and secure link via text message and email with a daily questionnaire for each of the contacts being traced.  The questionnaire allows the contact to enter their symptoms, temperature and a variety of other information as directed by each agency.

The platform also allows those filling out the questionnaire to list places they have recently been - such as a supermarket - and people they have been in direct contact with,  enrolling these new contacts in the daily contact tracing questionnaire.  This multiplies the reach and helps control community spread more effectively.  The information is securely stored inside of HealthSpace's secure HSCloud Suite platform for detailed reporting and analysis, helping these agencies make informed decisions in real-time.

This platform is being delivered at a time when unprecedented pressure and attention has been placed on public health agencies.  This growing pressure and strain has brought about the demand for increased funding.  In the $2 trillion economic stimulus package recently signed into law in the US, $500m has been specifically earmarked for the CDC with the express purpose of providing public health surveillance and data collection system (https://www.wpxi.com/news/washington-news-bureau/cdc-granted-500-million-surveillance-data-collection-system-fight-coronavirus/BB7YNCIL2FGHZOWL4YCIUFFV4E/).

HealthSpace CEO, Silas Garrison commented "In a time when public health agencies and governments across the globe are scrambling, looking for help, I am humbled that our platform has risen to the occasion.  Our team has been working tirelessly since we discovered the need for digital contact tracing and were able to stand up, in record time, a platform that truly scales contact tracing to meet the magnitude of this global crisis.  I am honored that our platform can have a positive and lasting impact, not just for the agencies implementing it, but for all those directly impacted by this virus.  The more we empower these public health agencies, the faster they can react to capping the spread of the virus.  This not only helps save lives but will lead to the world and the economy getting back to normal."

HealthSpace Data Systems Ltd.

HealthSpace is a government Software as a Service (SaaS) company focused on providing efficiencies to state and local government agencies through its powerful enterprise cloud and mobile platform. Over the last decade, HealthSpace has successfully developed both cloud and mobile applications currently serving over 500 state and local government organizations across North America. HealthSpace offers one of the only self-serve enterprise suites for government, providing greater power to the end-user.  Further, HealthSpace now delivers its government grade technologies to private businesses enabling them to gain visibility and predictability into their own organizations and move from a reactive to a proactive operational status. HealthSpace continues to deliver focused service and innovative solutions to government organizations, while expanding into commercial enterprise verticals to enable new customers with proactive environmental health best practices and policies.  HealthSpace has now entered into the FinTech space by creating a payment platform that streamlines the intake of government revenue for the agencies it serves.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "pipeline", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although HealthSpace believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. HealthSpace expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE HealthSpace Data