Esther Lauaki
Sewage water in Brooklyn will be tested to find traces of COVID-19 after positive samples were discovered in Altona North.
The Department of Health and Human Services will be testing wastewater across 25 surveillance sites in Victoria after “disturbing cases” were found in Melbourne’s west.
Other sites to be tested in the west include sewage systems in Footscay and Wyndham’s Western Treatment Plant.
DHHS testing commander Jeroen Weimar said sewage water testing would play a “critical role” in discovering new cases of COVID-19.
“We are taking samples at the 25 sample locations to see if there are changes in the level of coronavirus present in the wastewater.”
Mr Weimar said earlier this month that some “disturbing cases” had been found in Altona North.
“We encouraged people there to come forward,” he said.
“We are seeing a number of people in the community coming forward to get tested.
“That enables us to get on top of this and get on top of the coronavirus at its very earliest stage.”
Premier Daniel Andrews said the testing was world-class.
“Every tool, every mechanism that can be used in order to try and stay a step ahead of this virus, particularly in regional Victoria right now, but in metropolitan Melbourne as numbers continue to fall, will be very important, and that is why an enormous amount of work has gone into trial and to make sure the efficacy of this is up to scratch,” Mr Andrews said.
“It is just one example of many different continuous improvements we have made, many different approaches and trying to be as open as possible to looking at different ways of doing things that serves us well and certainly will be of even greater benefit once we get down to very low numbers.”
Esther Lauaki
