Sask. COVID-19 wastewater levels remain low, though some cities see rising trend: Report

The viral load of wastewater in Saskatoon, North Battleford and Prince Albert is trending higher, but remains below the 2022 average, researchers at the University of Saskatchewan observe in their new weekly report on COVID-19.

The researchers have been monitoring the three cities to determine the viral load and provide insight into the presence of the virus in those regions.

In an email, one of the lead researchers, John Giesy, said the viral RNA load in Prince Albert's wastewater increased by about 58 per cent and Saskatoon's by about 25 per cent from last week's report. 

While the viral load decreased in North Battleford by about 17 per cent, Giesy said all three cities have been trending upwards. 

Prince Albert has been trending upwards over the past seven weeks, while both Saskatoon and North Battleford registered increases in the past four weeks. 

Despite that, the reports says, all three cities are a fraction of the peak of viral load found in January. 

For example, North Battleford registered about seven per cent of the peak levels from January, while Prince Albert came in at about 10 per cent.

The emerging Omicron BA.5 subvariant has become the most prominent strain of COVID-19 in both Saskatoon and Prince Albert, and the second most prominent subvariant in North Battleford, according to the report.

The University of Regina's weekly wastewater analysis of Regina has yet to be published.  

Samples in Saskatoon were collected between July 28 and Aug. 3, samples in Prince Albert were collected between July 26 and Aug 1., and samples in North Battleford were collected between July 23 and July 29.