(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) has partnered with the State of Illinois to help residents gauge COVID-19 levels in their community based on wastewater surveillance done by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).
DPI and IDPH have been working together on this sampling for more than two-and-a-half years. At a time when most people are taking COVID tests at home, senior project manager Laura Clements said the website provides helpful information about the conditions in their area.
“If you’re getting the sniffles, you can look at the dashboard and get a sense of what’s increasing locally, and it might help you, kind of, make different decisions about how you go about your day,” she said.
Trend lines based on numbers from last week, for example, showed COVID-19 cases continuing to climb in the areas around South Deering in Chicago, Naperville and Hanover Park. Numbers are starting to drop near the Stickney plant in Cicero, as well as the O'Brien plant in Skokie.
Those conditions are based on twice-weekly samples taken from 75 wastewater treatment plants across the state.
“Everybody uses this facility at different times of the day, if you know what I mean, so you want to collect [in a way] so you can get everybody,” Clements said.
She said they plan to add in the next few months data about Influenza A and B.
The interactive map may be explored here.
Related
Related
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!