Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert and North Battleford all see increases
Aug 29, 2022
The COVID-19 viral loads in some of Saskatchewan’s major cities are the highest they’ve been in months, according to the latest weekly report from University of Saskatchewan researchers.
Researchers with the university’s Global Water Futures program have been analyzing wastewater samples from Saskatoon, North Battleford and Prince Albert for COVID-19 since summer 2020.
The study’s results can help predict a rise or fall of COVID-19 diagnoses about a week in advance.
In an email on Sunday, the team’s lead researcher John Giesy said the viral load has “increased significantly” in all three cities, continuing a 10-week trend of upticks.
“Not only are the viral loads increasing, but the rate of increase is accelerating,” he said in an email.
“The observed loads are approaching 50 per cent of the maximum values observed during the sixth wave.”
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/covid-19-wastewater-research-highest-in-months-1.6565283