REGION – Minister Hugo de Jonge of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) visited a sewage treatment plant in Leiden on 8 April. The reason for this is the administrative agreement for long-term sewage water research.
The agreement makes it possible for the water boards and water laboratories, knowledge institute STOWA and the RIVM to investigate the sewage water more intensively for traces of the corona virus, among other things.
The measurements are an important addition to the other studies for COVID-19, which is why Minister De Jonge has decided to extend and expand the program further.
The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport pays for the construction of the measuring infrastructure and the daily sampling for the next five years.
Sewage research has expanded considerably in a short space of time. With the signing of the agreement, the sewage water of all people in the Netherlands will be examined.
At present, 75% of sewage treatment plants take two or more samples per week. This will be increased to daily at all 314 sewage treatment plants in the Netherlands as soon as possible.
photo: Omroep Castricum archive
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