The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services have announced a $10 million grant program to support surveillance of wastewater for COVID-19. The program will help local public health departments coordinate with counties, universities, and other institutions across the state on wastewater testing programs. These local efforts have the potential to be an early warning system for the spread of COVID-19 within a specific community or for coronavirus outbreaks on college campuses and at other densely populated facilities.
Funded by Michigan’s allocation of federal money under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the grant program will target existing COVID-19 wastewater surveillance programs in the state to establish a standardized and coordinated network of monitoring systems operating by October 1.
