Water testing planned
WASTEWATER in the Toowoomba region will soon be tested for Covid-19 particles as part of the expansion of a surveillance program by the State Government.
Toowoomba is one of several local government areas added to the program, which will run until June next year.
Mayor Paul Antonio said the move was not due to any concerns around Covid-19’s presence in Toowoomba but rather about gathering more data.
“At this point in time there is no suggestion there are any issues within our community, however Queensland Health wants to do everything it can to find out more about this virus, and we’re happy to provide assistance however possible,” he said.
“To do this, council staff will take regular weekly samples so testing can be undertaken. “Our staff will then liaise with Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Queensland to facilitate the program.”
Two weeks ago The Chronicle raised questions as to why Toowoomba wasn’t included in the testing program.
Mr Antonio said wastewater monitoring was a vital tool for detecting Covid-19 in communities when disease transmission was too low to be identified from clinical testing.
“In other states wastewater surveillance has provided early warning of unknown cases in the community,” he said.
“To gain further knowledge, more than 50 wastewater treatment facilities in metropolitan and regional Queensland will be tested for this virus.”
For more information, head to qld.gov.au/health.