Biosafety advisory: SARS-CoV-2 (Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2)

This biosafety advisory is being provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) to assist clinical, diagnostic, and research laboratories in implementing proper biosafety procedures to safely handle samples that may contain SARS-CoV-2. This biosafety advisory also aims to support local risk assessments (LRAs) of facilities where whole live SARS-CoV-2 or purified or chemically synthesized full length SARS-CoV-2 RNA are handled. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in December 2019. This biosafety advisory is based on the scientific evidence available as of November 2, 2021, and is subject to review and revisions as new information becomes available.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field	Value
Last Updated	April 17, 2026, 21:30 (UTC)
Created	April 17, 2026, 21:30 (UTC)
criticality_level	[]
geographic_scope	[]
open_canada_collection	publication
open_canada_date_published	2021-10-13 00:00:00
open_canada_keywords	{"fr": ["Avis", "biosécurité", "SRAS-CoV-2", "Coronavirus", "syndrome", "respiratoire", "aigu", "sévère 2", "Renseignements", "généraux", "Classification", "groupe", "risque", "exigence", "relative", "délivrance", "permis", "matière", "biosécurité", "activités", "diagnostic", "Recommandations", "supplémentaires", "Procédures", "opératoires", "normalisées", "Désinfectants", "Exigences", "activités", "in vitro", "Transport", "Coordonnées", "Références", "ressources", "Sécurité", "risque", "santé", "Biosûreté et biosécurité", "Normes", "lignes", "directrices", "canadiennes", "avis"], "en": ["Risk", "group", "classification", "licensing", "requirements", "biosecurity", "Canadian", "Biosafety", "Standards", "Guidelines", "Directives", "Advisories", "recommendations", "diagnostic", "activities", "operating", "procedures", "Disinfectants", "requirements", "in vivo", "activities", "Transportation", "Contact", "information", "References", "resources", "Health", "risks", "safety", "advisory", "SARS-CoV-2", "severe", "acute", "respiratory", "syndrome", "coronavirus 2"]}
open_canada_subject	["health_and_safety"]
sensitivity_level	unrestricted
title_fr	Biosafety advisory: SARS-CoV-2 (Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2)
update_frequency	unknown