South Australia's wastewater surveillance testing program has now expanded to include the APY Lands, as part of the Marshall Liberal Government's strong plan to protect South Australians from the spread of COVID-19.
Minister for Health and Wellbeing Stephen Wade said wastewater sampling had proven to be an effective way to monitor COVID-19 in the community, with South Australia continuing to lead the way in expanding the surveillance.
"Establishing a world-class testing regime in order to immediately trace and contain any spread of COVID-19 has been a key feature of the Marshall Liberal Government's strong plan to protect South Australians from the pandemic," Minister Wade said.
"Supplementing our current testing methods with sewage monitoring has the potential to provide us with early warning signs of COVID-19, even before people carrying the virus develop symptoms. Testing is also an indicator of increased prevalence in the community, should an outbreak occur.
"The expansion of wastewater testing to include the APY lands will ensure we are actively monitoring a broad range of areas across the state and continuing to take every possible step to get ahead of this virus."
The Department for Health and Wellbeing's Principal Water Quality Adviser, Dr David Cunliffe, said wastewater testing is ongoing and has been successful at SA Water's Bolivar, Christies Beach, Glenelg, Angaston and Finger Point wastewater treatment plants and in the state's southeast.
"It is pleasing to see the expansion of the program to include the APY Lands will allow for further oversight into whether COVID-19 is present in our community.
"We know that the APY Lands have a vulnerable population and the wastewater testing is a non-invasive, early form of detection that will give us the opportunity to implement necessary controls and potentially save lives if an outbreak occurs.
"We would like to acknowledge the Nganampa Health Council for their work in expanding the testing to include their local area and look forward to continue to work with them to ensure the ongoing safety of their community."
SA Water Senior Manager Water Expertise and Research, Dr Daniel Hoefel, said the sewage sleuthing's successful methodology enabled the tool to be swiftly expanded across treatment plants and targeted areas in a wastewater catchment.
"Our expert scientists studying the genetic matrix of COVID-19 have developed a highly-sensitive testing technique capable of being deployed across specific locations, augmenting our state's ability to detect and manage any potential future outbreaks," Dr Hoefel said.
"From what we have discovered about the novel coronavirus, it can present in faecal matter quicker than the time taken for a patient to display symptoms. With our surveillance tool, we're in an advanced position to pick up the virus before clinical testing.
"We are proud to be working together with SA Health to strengthen South Australia's response to the pandemic by forging a new line of defence in our detection capacity."
