Water Sector News
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REPORTED COUNTY COVID CASES EDGING UPWARDS, WASTEWATER SAMPLING REVEALS UNREPORTED TREND
Apr 19, 2022
https://whbl.com/2022/04/18/reported-county-covid-cases-edging-upwards-wastewater-sampling-reveals-unreported-trend/
Public health officials believe that with the proliferation of at-home testing, the results of which don’t get registered with local and state health agencies, the actual incidence of COVID-19 may be in excess of that reported by agencies such as the Sheboygan County Division of Public Health. However one measure kept by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services doesn’t depend upon such reporting. Instead, COVID-19 Wastewater Surveillance in Wisconsin samples effluent from Wisconsin wastewate sewersheds, areas that are served by public wastewater treatment facilities, to determine the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 virus gene copies, particles every human will shed into wastewater when infected. In the cases of both such entities in Sheboygan County, the Plymouth Utilities and the Sheboygan Wastewater Treatment facilities, concentration of virus particles are on the rise. These trends are considered leading indicators of coming transmission by public health officials.
Public health officials believe that with the proliferation of at-home testing, the results of which don’t get registered with local and state health agencies, the actual incidence of COVID-19 may be in excess of that reported by agencies such as the Sheboygan County Division of Public Health. However one measure kept by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services doesn’t depend upon such reporting. Instead, COVID-19 Wastewater Surveillance in Wisconsin samples effluent from Wisconsin wastewate sewersheds, areas that are served by public wastewater treatment facilities, to determine the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 virus gene copies, particles every human will shed into wastewater when infected. In the cases of both such entities in Sheboygan County, the Plymouth Utilities and the Sheboygan Wastewater Treatment facilities, concentration of virus particles are on the rise. These trends are considered leading indicators of coming transmission by public health officials.