Sewage Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 Virus

Firstly, we invented a two-step separation method and used detections of two gene segments of the SARS—CoV-2 virus. In one case, it enabled the successful detection of one COVID-19 patient out of 56,000 people from their aggregated sewage sample. Secondly, we developed a compact auto-sampler that can be easily mounted underneath the existing sewerage manhole covers to collect the sewage sample automatically, thus minimizing the impacts on ground—level public activities. Thirdly, a territory-wide sewage surveillance system has been well established in Hong Kong through close collaboration between an interdisciplinary research team of environmental microbiology and public health from the University of Hong Kong and the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, including the Environment Bureau, the Food and Health Bureau, the Drainage Services Department and the Environmental Protection Department.