Midland to take a closer look at residents’ poop as part of province-wide initiative to monitor COVID in the community

Wastewater samples being sent off for testing to gauge prevalence of COVID

The Town of Midland is the latest to join the Ontario Wastewater Surveillance Initiative to look for signs of COVID-19 in the stuff we flush.

Studies indicate a significant portion of people with active COVID-19 infections shed the virus in their poop, even before symptoms start. Samples of Midland’s wastewater will be taken from points across the town and will be sent off for testing to see how prevalent COVID is in the municipality. “It’s an approach to syndromic surveillance or yet another tool for us to determine how much activity is happening in the community,” said Dr. Charles Gardner, medical officer of health for the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit about the initiative.

RELATED: BARRIE CITY HALL RUNNING WASTEWATER SAMPLE TESTS AS PART OF PROVINCIAL COVID DETECTION INITIATIVE

The City of Barrie recently agreed to participate in wastewater testing as well.

Samples from Midland will be sent to the Ontario Technology University in Durham Region for testing.

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