The WRC National COVID-19 Water and Sanitation surveillance programme

Still in the of throes of confronting the current global health crisis, international effort is centered around curbing the transmission and spread of the coronavirus. This virus has emerged at the top of the list in the May 2020 Global burden of disease study, surpassing Malaria when reviewing global deaths caused by viruses. For countries where mitigation interventions such as social distancing have been uplifted, a great concern exists regarding the re-emergence of the virus, intensifying focus on effective surveillance systems that will prepare countries for future waves of the infection.

The Water Research Commission (WRC) on 20 May 2020 launched a special programme on the Surveillance of COVID-19 in wastewater. Conceptualised as the implementation vehicle for monitoring the spread of COVID-19 in communities, the primary aim of this programme is; to share knowledge, stimulate research and innovations on water quality, sanitation and health and support the initiatives of government in curbing the spread of COVID-19.

Read more about the team and the research agenda here http://www.wrc.org.za/covid-surveillance-programme/.