1 Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.
2 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Western University, Ontario, Canada.
3 Department of Precision Health, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Strassen, Luxembourg.
4 Department of Animal Science, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
5 School of Engineering (Okanagan Campus), University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, Canada.
6 Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Western University, Ontario, Canada.
7 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada.
8 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Canada.

COVID-19 is deemed as the most critical world health calamity of the 21st century, leading to dramatic life loss. There is a pressing need to understand the multi-stage dynamics, including transmission routes of the virus and environmental conditions due to the possibility of multiple waves of COVID-19 in the future. In this paper, a systematic examination of the literature is conducted associating the virus-laden-aerosol and transmission of these microparticles into the multimedia environment, including built environments. Particularly, this paper provides a critical review of state-of-the-art modelling tools apt for COVID-19 spread and transmission pathways. GIS-based, risk-based, and artificial intelligence-based tools are discussed for their application in the surveillance and forecasting of COVID-19. Primary environmental factors that act as simulators for the spread of the virus include meteorological variation, low air quality, pollen abundance, and spatial-temporal variation. However, the influence of these environmental factors on COVID-19 spread is still equivocal because of other non-pharmaceutical factors. The limitations of different modelling methods suggest the need for a multidisciplinary approach, including the 'One-Health' concept. Extended One-Health-based decision tools would assist policymakers in making informed decisions such as social gatherings, indoor environment improvement, and COVID-19 risk mitigation by adapting the control measurements.