COVID-19 trending up in Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie wastewater testing – CBC

Viral load in Greater Sudbury is higher now than at the same time last year, says researcher

Oct 31, 2022

The presence of COVID-19 is trending up in wastewater samples from the northern Ontario cities of Greater Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie. But levels have remained relatively stable in other communities, according to scientists with the Health Sciences North Research institute.

Gustavo Ybazeta, a researcher with the institute, said the viral load of COVID-19 in wastewater from both cities is higher now than it was at the same time last year.

Ybazeta said his team is measuring 17.8 copies of the virus per millimetre of wastewater in Greater Sudbury, compared to eight to 10 copies per millimetre the previous week.

He said his team is also tracking new Omicron subvariants that could eventually become the dominant strains.

“At this moment there are multiple variants that are trying to be the one to replace BA.5 at this moment. And we’re following that,” he said.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/covid-19-wastewater-testing-northern-ontario-1.6633679

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