Canadian Wastewater Survey, December 2021 to January 2022

February 18, 2022, 8:43 a.m. (EST)

Measuring the COVID-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2) through wastewater analysis

With the emergence of the Omicron variant, Canada finds itself in the midst of another wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been at an all-time high in most provinces and territories. Since fall 2020, Statistics Canada has partnered with the National Microbiology Laboratory from the Public Health Agency of Canada to develop methods that detect and monitor levels of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in the wastewater of five cities (Metro Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Montréal and Halifax).

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Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).