What is wastewater testing for Covid-19?
Wastewater testing for Covid-19 first started in April 2020, with the aim of giving an early warning of outbreaks or an additional surveillance tool. The science has been developed since then, with a test in November 2020. The number of sites has steadily expanded and ESR now does regular wastewater testing across sites in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Rotorua, Hamilton and Queenstown. The samples are processed in ESR s laboratory in Wellington, and checked for accuracy – including adding a cat coronavirus and a mouse norovirus to every sample as controls.
RYAN ANDERSON/Stuff
Anyone who has Covid-19 symptoms is being urged to get tested, particularly those who live in the Wellington region.
Local Matters - Whangaparāoa wastewater included in Covid-19 tests localmatters.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from localmatters.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
CHECKPOINT/RNZ
A Covid-19 wastewater testing pilot s being rolled out around the country as a safety net for catching the virus in the community. How is wastewater sampled? Every day, about 400 million litres of wastewater are collected and treated in Auckland, across 7999 kilometres of wastewater pipes, 518 wastewater stations, 18 treatment plants and 167,264 maintenance holes. Wastewater testing is not new – ESR routinely tests wastewater for viruses and illicit drugs, such as MDMA and cocaine. There are two ways to take wastewater samples, says Dr Joanne Hewitt, head of ESR s environmental virology laboratory: automatic composite samples and grab samples. Automatic composite sampling – where a pump automatically collects a small volume of wastewater every 15 minutes over 24 hours – is the preferred method.
Covid 19 coronavirus: Inside the fascinating world of wastewater testing nzherald.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nzherald.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.