Using sewage for Covid warning - Printable Version
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Using sewage for Covid warning - magnus - 09-01-2020
Utah State quarantined several dorms after noticing elevated levels in the wastewater from those dorms.
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/08/30/utah-state-quarantining/
Also mentioned in the article was that wastewater was used to detect an outbreak elsewhere in the state before it showed up through normal testing means.
I read somewhere that cities in Massachusetts were testing sewage. Haven't heard/read any west coast anecdotes.
Last week, UofA caught cases before they potentially turned into an outbreak using wastewater detection.
https://www.foxnews.com/health/wastewater-system-coronavirus-university-arizona-dorm
RE: Using sewage for Covid warning - Farm93 - 09-01-2020
(09-01-2020, 03:18 PM)magnus Wrote: Utah State quarantined several dorms after noticing elevated levels in the wastewater from those dorms.That's a bit gross, but rather logical. I do worry a bit about how that could be used in a way that would be rather invasive on the privacy front in other situations, but I guess that'd be for a different time.
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/08/30/utah-state-quarantining/
Also mentioned in the article was that wastewater was used to detect an outbreak elsewhere in the state before it showed up through normal testing means.
I read somewhere that cities in Massachusetts were testing sewage. Haven't heard/read any west coast anecdotes.
As I look at the Utah State scene I can't help but wonder if living in a dorm is really a good option.
Every day would include the risk of testing positive, or knowing someone that tested positive.
Every day could be the first of many in quarantine or isolation or the hospital or worse potentially with family far away.
The campus life would not include any group activities or social life.
Every class would likely be tailored to the online audience even if a large number of students for a class are living on campus.
FWIW - My understanding is that even in campuses that are "open" most of the classes are online or very limited hybrid formats (1 day with TA, none with the professor)
Given all of that I suspect I would rank available choices in this order.
Choice #1 - Gap year program
Choice #2 - Study abroad, if any Asia country will take Americans
Choice #3 - Stop out for a term
Choice #4 - Online only - perhaps just part-time taking required Gen Ed classes unrelated to major
Choice #5 - Live off campus - As that will be better if on campus classes are halted for a few weeks during the term.
Choice #6 - Live in a campus dorm
I am very eager to learn over time how many students opted for non-traditional strategies this year at different schools across the USA.
RE: Using sewage for Covid warning - oregontim - 09-01-2020
(09-01-2020, 03:53 PM)Farm93 Wrote: Given all of that I suspect I would rank available choices in this order.
Choice #1 - Gap year program
Choice #2 - Study abroad, if any Asia country will take Americans
Choice #3 - Stop out for a term
Choice #4 - Online only - perhaps just part-time taking required Gen Ed classes unrelated to major
Choice #5 - Live off campus - As that will be better if on campus classes are halted for a few weeks during the term.
Choice #6 - Live in a campus dorm
I am very eager to learn over time how many students opted for non-traditional strategies this year at different schools across the USA.
By coincidence, I just yesterday heard from a friend whose eldest daughter left for a year of university in Germany. She’s an excellent student and had her choice of US universities. Germany has several excellent universities and going there instead gives her — she thinks, and her parents agree — a much more normal university experience than what she was contemplating here in the US.
RE: Using sewage for Covid warning - chrisk - 09-01-2020
University of Arizona is a PAC-12 school that is checking dorm sewage.
(09-01-2020, 04:59 PM)oregontim Wrote:(09-01-2020, 03:53 PM)Farm93 Wrote: Given all of that I suspect I would rank available choices in this order.
Choice #1 - Gap year program
Choice #2 - Study abroad, if any Asia country will take Americans
Choice #3 - Stop out for a term
Choice #4 - Online only - perhaps just part-time taking required Gen Ed classes unrelated to major
Choice #5 - Live off campus - As that will be better if on campus classes are halted for a few weeks during the term.
Choice #6 - Live in a campus dorm
I am very eager to learn over time how many students opted for non-traditional strategies this year at different schools across the USA.
By coincidence, I just yesterday heard from a friend whose eldest daughter left for a year of university in Germany. She’s an excellent student and had her choice of US universities. Germany has several excellent universities and going there instead gives her — she thinks, and her parents agree — a much more normal university experience than what she was contemplating here in the US.
What kingdom of hoops did she have to go through? 14 day quarantine?
RE: Using sewage for Covid warning - JeffInCorvallis - 09-01-2020
(09-01-2020, 03:53 PM)Farm93 Wrote:(09-01-2020, 03:18 PM)magnus Wrote: Utah State quarantined several dorms after noticing elevated levels in the wastewater from those dorms.That's a bit gross, but rather logical. I do worry a bit about how that could be used in a way that would be rather invasive on the privacy front in other situations, but I guess that'd be for a different time.
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/08/30/utah-state-quarantining/
Also mentioned in the article was that wastewater was used to detect an outbreak elsewhere in the state before it showed up through normal testing means.
I read somewhere that cities in Massachusetts were testing sewage. Haven't heard/read any west coast anecdotes.
As I look at the Utah State scene I can't help but wonder if living in a dorm is really a good option.
Every day would include the risk of testing positive, or knowing someone that tested positive.
Every day could be the first of many in quarantine or isolation or the hospital or worse potentially with family far away.
The campus life would not include any group activities or social life.
Every class would likely be tailored to the online audience even if a large number of students for a class are living on campus.
FWIW - My understanding is that even in campuses that are "open" most of the classes are online or very limited hybrid formats (1 day with TA, none with the professor)
Given all of that I suspect I would rank available choices in this order.
Choice #1 - Gap year program
Choice #2 - Study abroad, if any Asia country will take Americans
Choice #3 - Stop out for a term
Choice #4 - Online only - perhaps just part-time taking required Gen Ed classes unrelated to major
Choice #5 - Live off campus - As that will be better if on campus classes are halted for a few weeks during the term.
Choice #6 - Live in a campus dorm
I am very eager to learn over time how many students opted for non-traditional strategies this year at different schools across the USA.
I'm assuming that Germany will/has let her into the country with an appropriate quarantine period of some sort? Are there workarounds for students - I keep hearing that my U.S. passport is only good for kindling right now.
RE: Using sewage for Covid warning - Farm93 - 09-02-2020
(09-01-2020, 08:47 PM)JeffInCorvallis Wrote: I'm assuming that Germany will/has let her into the country with an appropriate quarantine period of some sort? Are there workarounds for students - I keep hearing that my U.S. passport is only good for kindling right now.A few days ago I wanted to understand a bit about the travel bans in the EU countries, for other reasons.
I wanted to learn more about how those participating in the US Open finals on Sep 12 and Sep 13 could then participate in the French Open on Sep 21 just 8 or 9 days later. Presumably there was a path available to those that offer unique skills or have been tested frequently for COVID19 in the USA, but I wanted to see if that was posted.
In the few EU countries I reviewed there did seem to be a specific carve out for university students. I am not sure how long one must quarantine in each EU country, but a person planning on spending a full term in the EU could presumably dedicate enough time to that required step before school begins.
The other thing I found interesting was that USA citizens were not banned. Rather the ban applies to USA and non-EU citizens currently living in the USA. The one FAQ I read called out a fun example that illustrates the difference. If a USA citizen is living in Australia then they can go to the EU. However, if a USA citizen is currently living in the USA then the restrictions apply.
RE: Using sewage for Covid warning - BostonCard - 09-02-2020
Travel bans are stupid if you already have community transmission. A traveler from a high risk country probably has a higher probability of having COVID-19, but it's like banning campfires when you already have a forrest fire burning.
BC
RE: Using sewage for Covid warning - chrisk - 09-02-2020
The president of University of Arizona was on CNBC this morning promoting its sewage testing plan. Their overall testing has been finding about 2.3% positives. The sewage plan is letting them find more cases of asymptomatic students and isolate them sooner.
RE: Using sewage for Covid warning - Goose - 09-02-2020
(09-02-2020, 11:25 AM)chrisk Wrote: The sewage plan is letting them find more cases of asymptomatic students and isolate them sooner.
This is very important because it gets them in the few days they are contagious but not yet symptomatic (as well as those that never have symptoms). The other point to be made here is the compliance with isolation is not optional when you live in the dorms. They move you to the "isolation dorm", and there you stay. That is a big difference from "normal" USA society.
RE: Using sewage for Covid warning - oregontim - 09-03-2020
(09-01-2020, 08:39 PM)chrisk Wrote:
(09-01-2020, 04:59 PM)oregontim Wrote: By coincidence, I just yesterday heard from a friend whose eldest daughter left for a year of university in Germany. She’s an excellent student and had her choice of US universities. Germany has several excellent universities and going there instead gives her — she thinks, and her parents agree — a much more normal university experience than what she was contemplating here in the US.
What kingdom of hoops did she have to go through? 14 day quarantine?
Sorry, not sure. Parents are both German citizens, which would give her citizenship, which might have helped. That conversation didn’t turn towards the hoops ... she was already landed, and happy with the decision.