Standard practices associated with wastewater treatment plant operations should be sufficient to protect wastewater workers from the virus that causes COVID-19. These standard practices can include engineering and administrative controls, hygiene precautions, specific safe work practices, and personal protective equipment (PPE) normally required when handling untreated wastewater. No additional COVID-19–specific protections are recommended for workers involved in wastewater management, including those at wastewater treatment facilities.
For more information, visit CDC's website dedicated to this topic at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/sanitation-wastewater-workers.html.
SARS-CoV-2 Testing
SARS-CoV-2 is mainly transmitted by person-to-person contact and airborne droplets and aerosols. However, the virus and its genetic material are also excreted through urine and feces. SARS-CoV-2 has been found in wastewater around the world and can be detected three to seven days prior to people developing symptoms or getting a positive diagnosis. Monitoring wastewater systems serves as an early indicator of community outbreaks and provides useful information to public health officials and local decision-makers. Refer to the resources below for additional information on the importance and usefulness of wastewater sampling, it’s not only about compliance.
Since early 2020, we have learned a lot about COVID-19 and the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes it. But presymptomatic and asymptomatic transmission, plus gaps in testing and contact tracing, have made it hard to pinpoint the virus and take appropriate protective action against outbreaks. Here’s how streamlined sampling and testing protocols are making in-house wastewater testing one of the least-invasive early warning systems available.
Using qPCR Wastewater Testing To Pinpoint Potential COVID-19 OutbreaksHealth officials who are aware of how quickly the pandemic landscape can change in terms of local infection rates, virus mutations, and evolving public health protocols are turning to timely wastewater testing to detect the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus as an indicator of COVID-19 spread. Here is how one technology is delivering quicker, easier, and more reliable onsite detection capabilities in as little as two hours.
Planning Better Wastewater Sampling For Better COVID-19 InsightEarly efforts at wastewater testing for the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 revolved around university researchers who had knowledge of quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) technology and the laboratory equipment to carry it out. One university has capitalized on a total wastewater monitoring solution to protect its community and, in the process, has created a blueprint for other communities to do the same.