CDC announces people can now track COVID-19 in wastewater

 

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (CBS58) -- The Centers for Disease Control announced today that people will be able to track COVID-19 in wastewater using the COVID tracker on its website.

The CDC has been tracking the data throughout its National Wastewater Surveillance System. They found hundreds of communities across the country to participate.

In the coming weeks, the CDC hopes to mobilize even more resources for testing wastewater.

The information will be updated daily and will include wastewater levels over the last 15 days.

"The advantage of the CDC supported dashboard is that it allows you to compare data across states directly," said Amy Kirby, Waterborne Disease Branch expert. "The data that's available on state level dashboards doesn't have the same analysis behind it."

The CDC estimates that between 40 and 80 percent of people with COVID shed viral RNA in their waste, whether they are symptomatic or not.