Collingwood has joined Ontario’s Wastewater Surveillance Initiative to test for COVID-19.
The town collected its first set of samples last week as part of the initiative, which hopes to quickly identify, manage, and prevent outbreaks of COVID19.
Since many individuals who may be carrying COVID19 are asymptomatic, they may not be getting tested, so collecting and testing wastewater is a quicker way to detect if COVID19 is present in a community.
With Ontario in the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the province is exploring ways to monitor the presence of COVID-19 in a community even if people are not showing symptoms. As such, the Province has decided to invest over $12M in a wastewater surveillance initiative in Ontario. They reached out to the Town of Collingwood to participate in this program where staff will collect and submit a weekly wastewater sample for analysis for the coronavirus RNA. This sampling program allows health care professionals to track the increasing or decreasing trend of COVID-19 in Collingwood and implement proactive controls, if required. As the program progresses, sampling frequency from the Collingwood wastewater treatment plant may increase by up to three times per week.
“We are very excited to be participating in this innovative program and doing what we can to help the local health care professionals respond to this global pandemic,” Says Heather McGinnity, Manager, Environmental Services.
Collingwood is among several other Simcoe-Muskoka municipalities participating in the initiative, including Barrie, Orillia and Midland.
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Collingwood joins Ontario Wastewater Surveillance Initiative to test for COVID19. More here: https://t.co/B2agmVD74h#covid19 #wastewater pic.twitter.com/OYmhFScsOe
— Town of Collingwood (@TownCollingwood) February 9, 2021