Our city’s wastewater will help scientists learn how to track COVID-19 cases through sewage in a new $12-million study.
Ian Morgan is the Chief Chemist for the city’s Environment Division, and explains that a small amount of the virus shows up in sewage, so researchers are able to use it to detect COVID-19 spread in a community.
“Wastewater can essentially detect asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic, and symptomatic infections, so it can kind of give you a head start of what’s going on in a community,” he says.
While the idea of testing sewage for COVID-19 isn’t new–Morgan notes it’s been used around the world–he indicates the goal of this study is to standardize a way of measuring the virus.
He suggests the eventual goal is to translate those readings into cases and predict outbreaks earlier.
Sampling has not yet started. Thunder Bay’s samples will be sent to labs throughout the province, and after the study, Morgan says we will send wastewater monthly for testing.
He explains the city was chosen because of the relatively low case count given our population, making it “ideal” to analyze.
In a statement, the director of the city’s Environment Division Michelle Warywoda said the following:
“With Ontario announcing $12M in funding to support a wastewater surveillance program late last year, the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) is developing a pilot program to be rolled out in the very near future. The City’s Environment Division met with MECP representatives in December and we anticipate our participation in the program will start some time this month.”
