ESR was delighted to get a visit from 2021 New Zealander of the Year, Dr Siouxsie Wiles, today.
As part of a jam-packed day of learning about the work of ESR, discussing opportunities for greater connections and sharing what's keeping Siouxsie Wiles busy, she also spent time learning about the work ESR is to doing to trace COVID-19 in our wastewater.
Wastewater is an important surveillance tool to monitor for COVID-19 and can offer us an early warning of cases in the community.
Any cases of COVID-19 need to be detected quickly in order to stop the virus spreading in our communities. Detecting COVID-19 in wastewater samples can help alert local communities to be more vigilant, keep up hygiene measures, and get tested and stay home if they are unwell.
Wastewater testing is scaling up after new sites were added to ESR’s testing network, bringing the total number of sites to 26. The new sites include Whangarei, Gisborne, Tauranga, Taupo, New Plymouth, Napier, Palmerston North, Nelson, Dunedin and Invercargill.