The Oakland County Health Division and Oakland University are launching a new wastewater testing program to identify traces of SARS-COVID-19 in local wastewater. The three-month pilot program will be funded by a grant from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). EGLE and MDHHS are distributing $6.5 million in grants and $3 million worth of donated laboratory equipment to local health departments, universities, and municipalities to support the program, which will involve testing water for the virus at sampling sites and water treatment plants statewide.
The Oakland County Health Division received a Digital Drop PCR analyzer that will be used to test for SARS-COVID-19 in wastewater. Wastewater testing has proved to be an effective way to gage community spread as an alternative to voluntary individual testing.
Read more about the pilot program from the Oakland Press here: https://www.theoaklandpress.com/news/coronavirus/oakland-county-and-oakland-university-testing-for-covid-19-in-wastewater-as-part-of-pilot/article_5b56dcea-2db2-11eb-94f9-3f5f94dd0a01.html
