Ontario sewage tests indicates COVID-19 may have plateaued but levels still high, experts say – CBC

There are a few signs that Omicron’s surge has levelled off, leaving researchers ‘cautiously optimistic’

Jan 21, 2022

Results from facilities testing sewage for COVID-19 across Ontario indicate that infection rates may have plateaued, yet levels of the Omicron variant appear to remain high, experts say.

Andrea Kirkwood, an associate professor of biological science at Ontario Tech University who is one of a number of researchers involved in the wastewater COVID-19 surveillance project, said at the beginning of the month, all the sites they were monitoring “spiked really high.”

Levels subsequently came down from the peak, but researchers are still detecting a higher virus signal with the Omicron variant compared to previous variants, she said.

“But now it’s plateaued,” said Kirkwood, whose team monitors 11 wastewater sites, which include Durham Region and Simcoe-Muskoka.

Since the Omicron surge overwhelmed available PCR testing in Ontario and other provinces, eyes have turned to wastewater monitoring for a relative sense of what’s happening with coronavirus infections in an area.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/wastewater-monitoring-sewage-ontario-covid-19-1.6321796