Australia to Detect COVID-19 Spread by Testing Sewage

Australian researchers said they expect to roll out testing of sewage for the presence of coronavirus for the majority of the country’s population to help pinpoint communities at risk, after a successful regional pilot. In the pilot, scientists were able to detect a gene fragment of the coronavirus in untreated sewage from two wastewater treatment plants. The technology used in the pilot will now be integrated into an existing system under which crime agencies monitor wastewater, covering about 57 percent of the population, to detect the presence of illicit drugs. The data collected through this program will help officials when they start to wind back restrictions on public movement. “I see it as an important surveillance tool for easing restrictions,” said Paul Bertsch, the land and water science director for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) (Australia’s national science agency). “As governments ease up, they will need to keep monitoring and respond to outbreaks,” he added. Last week Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said restrictions that have closed non-essential business and banned public gatherings would stay in place for at least another month, although officials have begun talking about how to start easing them. Read the article at Reuters.