Punjab to track spread of coronavirus in sewage

LAHORE: A University of Health Science (UHS) has decided to launch a pilot project with Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) to detect coronavirus in sewage.

UHS vice-chancellor Prof Javed Akram said that UHS, in collaboration with WASA, is going to launch a scientific study to detect coronavirus in wastewater.

According to details, sewage samples from 30 areas of Lahore will be collected to test viral load. The RT-PCR test of samples will show the extent of virus transmission in the neighborhood.

Vice-Chancellor (VC) of University of Health Sciences has said that during the current smart lockdown, rate of tests conducted was low in context to the size of population and people also have reservations over sealing of specific areas during the smart lockdown.

The government of Punjab has also been informed about the scientific study, he added.

It may be noted that sewage sampling would be able to estimate the approximate number of people infected in a geographic area without having to test every person.

Earlier, Punjab recorded 2,538 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of infections across the province to 64,216, according to the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department.

A spokesperson for the department said, 82 more people died from coronavirus in the previous 24 hours, taking the total number of fatalities to 1,347 in the province.

The number of people recovering from the disease has risen to 17,964, said the spokesperson.