As of this week, the Corona Dashboard can be used to compare the measurement results of the sewage water survey of various municipalities and safety regions. The numbers of viruses are now also displayed per 100,000 inhabitants. As a result, the measurement results of the sewerage investigation can be compared with the medical indicators on the dashboard.
Some of the people infected with the new corona virus may contain traces of the virus in the faeces. They enter the sewer through the toilet. Also people who are infected but have no complaints, and therefore have not (yet) had themselves tested, can also have traces of coronavirus in their stool. That is why sewage research is ideally suited for early detection.
From 7 September, the RIVM National Institute for Public Health and the Environment will receive samples of untreated sewage water from all more than 300 sewage treatment plants, which are part of the 21 water boards throughout the Netherlands, one or more times a week. In the sewage water samples, the genetic material (RNA ribonucleic acid) of the virus is demonstrated in the RIVM lab. This will then map out where there are many or few virus particles in the sewage water. The results can be seen on it Corona Dashboard from the national government.
New view on Corona Dashboard
From 3 November, the sewer measurements will be displayed on the dashboard per 100,000 inhabitants. As a result, the figures can be compared with other indicators, such as the number of positive people, because they are also shown per 100,000. The sewage measurements from different municipalities and safety regions can also be compared. This is because a correction is now also made for the amount of sewage water that flows past the measuring point. This can vary considerably per location.
The sewage research is carried out in close collaboration with the Union of Water Boards and the 21 water boards.
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