The XpresSpa Group and its XpresCheck subsidiary this week announced a joint effort with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Ginkgo Bioworks to expand its current COVID-19 surveillance program to now detect the new Omicron variant.
The announcement follows new travel restrictions imposed by the White House over the weekend applicable to eight African countries in response to a new COVID-19 variant. On Sunday, November 28, XpresCheck expanded its COVID-19 bio-surveillance program to test passengers entering the U.S. from Southern Africa, including passengers making connections through Europe.
“Over the past three months, we’ve been accumulating real-world experience in conducting an airport-based COVID-19 surveillance of international arriving passengers, while refining and streamlining our testing processes to maximize program results,” said Doug Satzman, XpresSpa CEO. “Now that we’ve got the network built and running smoothly, we believe we can rapidly pivot to adapt to any new variants of concern, including the latest Omicron variant.”
The initial XpresCheck COVID-19 bio-surveillance program was rolled out September and provided testing for travelers arriving from India at three key United States airports, John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Newark-Liberty International Airport (EWR), and San Francisco International Airport (SFO. The program is currently expanding to include Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).
Ginkgo Bioworks’ biosecurity and public health effort, Concentric by Ginkgo, will manage the testing program, which includes genetic sequencing of positive tests to detect presence of the new variant of concern or other SARS-CoV-2 variants.
