{"id":44600,"date":"2021-12-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-23T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southafricatribune.com\/?guid=c0de1e906a9987402f91be7bcb241d0c"},"modified":"2021-12-23T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-12-23T00:00:00","slug":"samrc-records-drop-in-covid-19-fragments-in-wastewater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southafricatribune.com\/samrc-records-drop-in-covid-19-fragments-in-wastewater\/","title":{"rendered":"SAMRC records drop in COVID-19 fragments in wastewater"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scientists from the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) wastewater surveillance team are reporting a decline in concentrations of COVID-19 fragments in the majority of wastewater treatment plants.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are seeing this pattern of levelling or declining concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 RNA fragments in 89% of the wastewater treatment plants we are monitoring in urban areas including Buffalo City, Cape Town and Nelson Mandela Bay,\u201d said Professor Angela Mathee, who is a member of the team.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

In addition, she said 97% of wastewater treatment plants in rural areas in Limpopo, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape are also showing a similar pattern.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The SAMRC\u2019s wastewater surveillance team undertakes weekly sampling and analysis of wastewater from 72 wastewater treatment plants located in urban and rural areas across four provinces to support the management of COVID-19 in South Africa. These are situated in Gauteng, Limpopo, Eastern Cape and Western Cape.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe declining concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 RNA fragments in wastewater corroborate what we\u2019re seeing with COVID-19 cases around the country,\u201d said Dr Ren\u00e9e Street, who plays a lead role in the team.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

She cautioned, however, that while the levels of COVID-19 fragments are declining, they remain high and a cause for public health concern. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

SAMRC President Glenda Gray has described this decrease as “very encouraging”.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cBut this should not be viewed as an indication that we may drop our guard,\u201d she warned.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Gray said human behaviour such as wearing masks, avoiding crowds and gatherings, holding essential gatherings outdoors or in well-ventilated spaces and hand hygiene are pivotal in controlling COVID-19 waves.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

She also urged all to persist with these recommended and effective practices, especially during the current holiday season.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The Professor called on the nation to vaccinate, and for those who are eligible to take booster shots.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Thursday that there has been a decrease in daily case numbers and percentage of people testing positive in Gauteng.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

In addition, the NICD said infections are dropping in Limpopo, North West and Mpumalanga.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Source: South African Government News Agency<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scientists from the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) wastewater surveillance team are reporting a decline in concentrations of COVID-19 fragments in the majority of wastewater treatment plants.\u201cWe are seeing this pattern of levelling or d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nSAMRC records drop in COVID-19 fragments in wastewater - South Africa Tribune<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southafricatribune.com\/samrc-records-drop-in-covid-19-fragments-in-wastewater\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SAMRC records drop in COVID-19 fragments in wastewater - 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