HOW IS GENOMIC SEQUENCING DONE?
Positive samples, typically taken from travel-related cases or those that were otherwise flagged for sequencing, are sent to a specific lab which has the equipment required to get a closer look at the virus's genetic code.
From there, a specially-trained scientist looks for mutations and changes from the main SARS-CoV-2 virus, going through the code line by line.
The process, which can take anywhere from a couple days to a full week, is tedious, expensive and requires a level of scientific equipment and knowledge only accessible in a handful of labs across the country, says Dr. Tony Mazzulli, a medical microbiologist at Public Health Ontario Laboratory.