The province of New Brunswick is officially on board with wastewater testing for early detection of COVID-19, but its not clear when or if the town of Sackville’s sewage system might be included in the testing regime.
In a release in late October, the province calls wastewater testing a “a crucial tool for public health authorities because it is a low-cost option to obtain non-invasive biological samples from the population.” Wastewater testing involves taking samples of sewage and testing for viral loads of COVID-19. The sewage surveillance has been used as an early warning system for infection levels, because COVID-19 can be detected in wastewater even before symptoms develop in people.
Greater Moncton has participated in a testing program with Dalhousie University through much of the pandemic, but this month’s announcement includes the Natoaganeg First Nation as well, and testing and analysis of samples will now happen in New Brunswick, at the Georges Dumont hospital lab. Results are then reported to Public Health Canada’s wastewater dashboard.
Department of Health spokesperson Adam Bowie says additional sites are being investigated for inclusion in the program. There is no cost to municipalities to participate, and no population size threshold, says Bowie. Places serviced by a wastewater treatment facilities (as opposed to private septic systems) are typically candidates for wastewater sampling.
CHMA reached out to the town of Sackville to find out if the town will be making an effort to join the pilot program. Town engineer Jon Eppell says simply, “Sackville has not been asked to participate in the program.”
