The Cleveland Department of Public Health issued a warning Friday after detecting a spike in COVID-19 levels in untreated wastewater samples collected from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.
This indicates a strong likelihood of increased community spread of COVID-19 in the coming days or weeks, according to a news release issued by the health department.
David Margolius, director of Cleveland Department of Public Health, said this doesn't mean there's been an uptick in COVID-19 hospitalizations or deaths.
"But the wastewater surveillance is showing basically a five-fold increase in detected virus in the wastewater, and so we definitely want people to know what's going on," he said.
Samples also indicated high levels of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the department said.
The alert was issued after recent monitoring results show a high and increasing trend in SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), triggering notification thresholds established by the Ohio Department of Health. A sample showed a more than 250% increase in million gene copies per day (MGC/D) compared to the average of the previous month’s samples. To determine MGC/D, the amount of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material entering a wastewater treatment plant is calculated from the viral concentration and the flow rate for the catchment area, according to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre.
Wastewater data reflects community infection trends, including among people who may be asymptomatic or who have not been tested, the Cleveland Department of Public Health noted.
"The virus, something in it changes and it becomes a new variant, becomes more contagious, and we might have a little bit less immunity to that particular variant," Margolius said. "And so that's where you see the rapid rise in cases."
The department is encouraging residents to consider COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters. People who experience respiratory symptoms should avoid contact with others and wear a mask when leaving the house.
"This is not a reason to panic or be alarmed," Margolius added. "It's just for folks to know that if they do have symptoms of a cold or other more severe respiratory symptoms, then they are likely contagious and they should act accordingly."
