Wastewater monitoring of SARS-CoV-2

The research project by Eawag/EPFL has shown that measuring the SARS-CoV-2 virus concentration in wastewater is suitable for assessing the epidemiological situation independently of testing capacity and the population's testing behavior. The national wastewater monitoring continues the measurements on a large scale to obtain a regionally resolved overview of the epidemiological situation. Across Switzerland, samples are taken 3-6 times per week at around 100 wastewater treatment plants. These are analyzed in 12 laboratories. The laboratories regularly examine identical samples for quality assurance. These so-called ring tests are supervised by the Cantonal Laboratory of Zurich. The cantonal environmental and water protection offices require the laboratories to participate in the ring tests and to report the laboratory results to the FOPH. The federal government reimburses the cantons for the analysis and reporting costs. Further content of the procurement: ring tests