As of June 15, the ministry of manpower reported that 75,000 workers living in dormitories have been cleared of the virus. One new and fascinating way of surveillance being introduced is the testing human waste and wastewater for signs of the pathogen. The initial efforts were focused on assessing the situation at and reducing the transmission of COVID-19 in migrant workers’ dormitories. Wastewater testing is not the sole means of detecting the virus in the dormitories but complemented by swab tests on individuals. It has demonstrated the utility of wastewater testing as a warning system for the presence of COVID-19 cases and the trending of COVID-19 concentration over time can determine if infection control measures taken have been effective.

Source: Hindustan Times June 22, 2020 08:01 UTC