Dr. Lawrence Goodridge, a microbiologist in the Department of Food Science who is leading U of G’s wastewater testing initiative, explained the importance of testing and monitoring for COVID-19 to The Globe and Mail’s podcast “The Decibel.” 

Goodridge gave an overview of how wastewater works before highlighting the system’s advantages. He said it can be used to develop an active monitoring system and to help health units plan and prepare for cases since the wastewater signal will indicate if the number of cases in a given area is rising. He also noted that wastewater testing “was never meant to be a replacement for clinical testing, but it was always meant to be complementary.”  

The Leung Family Professor in Food Safety and director of U of G’s Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety, Goodridge has been working since the fall of 2020 with colleagues in the School of Engineering and Department of Pathobiology in gathering wastewater samples.