COVID-19 in wastewater prompts 'modified quarantine' at UWindsor residence
Virus was found in wastewater from Alumni Hall, university says
The University of Windsor announced Sunday through a news release that a sample of wastewater from its campus tested positive for COVID-19.
The university confirmed that of the 160 students tested for COVID-19 Sunday, one student has tested positive so far. The school is still waiting to get all test results back, but says the student has been isolated and is asymptomatic.
According to the release, daily samples of wastewater across campus are tested as part of the university's efforts in monitoring the virus.
The university was made aware of the positive wastewater sample — associated with Alumni Hall Residence — Saturday evening.
"Once alerted to these results, the University immediately enacted its COVID-19 protections and protocols. As a precautionary measure, residents of Alumni Hall are now under a 'modified quarantine' and are being asked to avoid close contact with others and to follow all public health measures," the statement reads.
The university said it's working with the local health unit to provide on-site testing for residents of Alumni Hall starting on Sunday morning as well as Student Health Services to provide additional support.
It's the first time wastewater on campus has tested positive since testing began two months ago, according to Mike McKay, the executive director of the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research at the university and lead of the project.
He and his team have been collecting and monitoring sewage samples from across the region and province since last May for early virus detection.
"Hopefully the students look at this as the university being proactive," McKay said. "We know wastewater can be a leading indicator of infection meaning that somebody might be infected, not showing symptoms yet, yet they're still shedding virus into the wastewater stream."
He said this could be an opportunity to identify someone in early stages of infection before they spread the virus through the residence.
McKay also said this is a sign for people to keep their guard up and continue washing their hands, wearing masks and practice physical distancing.
"This pandemic is certainly not over, especially with vaccines still only being available to certain sectors of the population ... and the variants ... becoming more dominant," he said.
"I know this pandemic has drawn on for such a long time and we're starting to get nicer weather and people might start aggregating more. Maybe this will reinforce the need to maintain those practices so that we can all ensure that we're safe," McKay said.
The university said it will continue to work closely with the health unit to further deploy resources and support students on campus.