US government's COVID-19 strategy set to include widespread wastewater testing

摘要

In the clearest sign yet that wastewater testing could prove to be a key weapon in the fight against COVID-19, the US government advertised a contract late last month which could see a private contractor test for the virus in wastewater samples covering 30% of the US population. Among the respondents to the contract is MIT wastewater epidemiology start-up Biobot Analytics, which was initially founded in 2017 to focus on the opioids epidemic in the US, but has since rapidly retooled to become a leading provider of wastewater testing services for COVID-19.