The City of Perrysburg has been invited to join the Ohio COVID Wastewater Monitoring Network, an ongoing initiative to monitor wastewater systems across the state for presence of COVID RNA fragments.  By studying samples of wastewater for the presence of gene copies or fragments of the virus that causes the disease, the Ohio network can detect an early warning of an increase in COVID-19 in the community. 

Research has shown that non- infectious RNA (ribonucleic acid) from the virus that causes COVID-19 can be detected in wastewater as many as three to seven days before those infections lead to increases in case counts or hospitalizations. This means that monitoring raw wastewater in sewage collection systems can provide an early warning of disease increase in a community.

The samples from Perrysburg are analyzed at BGSU and the results are compiled and posted at the Ohio Department of Health in Columbus. Perrysburg began collecting samples for testing February 8. 

More information about this initiative and the status of Perrysburg’s wastewater can be found here.