Canadian Researchers Join Others in Testing Sewage for Indication on Second COVID-19 Wave

This 2020 electron microscope image made available by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the spherical particles of the new coronavirus, colorized blue, from the first U.S. case of COVID-19. AP-Hannah A. Bullock, Azaibi Tamin/CDC via AP/The Canadian Press

OTTAWA—As Canada continues to struggle to keep up with the level of COVID-19 tests needed to fend off a potential second wave of the viral disease, researchers say the best early warning system for a second wave could be right beneath our feet—in the sewers.

Several other countries have taken to testing wastewater for signs of the novel coronavirus as an indication of flare-ups in their communities.