COVID levels in south Winnipeg wastewater increasing

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This article was published 29/07/2022 (1497 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Levels of COVID-19 detected in south Winnipeg’s wastewater have increased enough to earn a warning label from the federal monitoring dashboard.

The viral load of COVID-19 in the city’s south end sewage treatment plant’s wastewater reached 106 copies per millilitre July 24, according to seven-day average data published Friday by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

The data was current as of July 25, and on that day, south end levels dropped slightly to 96 per ml.

The levels surpassed an “increasing” label. The warning label was given to areas that had a seven-day average viral load of more than 100 copies per ml.

Dramatic change hasn’t been detected elsewhere in Manitoba; wastewater monitoring at the capital’s north end plant showed a slight decrease in viral load, and there was no change in the west end. There was also no change detected in Brandon’s municipal wastewater.

They were among the only collection sites in Canada showing a decline or no change.

Overall, most of the country is seeing an increase in COVID-19 transmission, based on the wastewater monitoring data. The most recent data shows 60 per cent of sites across the country had definite increases, and another 21 per cent had possible increases.

The data is collected at the municipal level from 23 Canadian neighbourhoods and is published by the federal dashboard twice a week.

Prince Edward Island is reporting some of the highest levels of viral load — much higher per capita than large cities such as Vancouver.