Belgium to test wastewater on flights arriving from China for COVID

Belgium to test wastewater on flights arriving from China for COVID

Introduction

The world’s first case of a deadly virus that has killed more than 1,000 people in China was reported last week by a British Airways passenger who contracted it while traveling through Beijing. The coronavirus is a rare but deadly form of the bug SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and symptoms include fever, cough, and breathing problems. While the virus can be spread via contact with bodily fluids, it’s not clear how it has infected so many people in China. What is known is that Belgium will be testing wastewater for the new coronavirus on flights arriving from China and landing at its three main airports on Thursday and Sunday as part of measures to prevent further infections.

Belgium will be the first country in Europe to test wastewater for the new coronavirus that has killed over a thousand people in China and infected tens of thousands more, health officials revealed on Thursday.

The Belgian authorities have been testing samples since Monday at their border control with France, where it’s thought that most of those who got sick originated.

The tests – which will also take place at airports and port terminals – are part of an effort by European governments to better understand how humans can catch and spread such deadly viruses without being exposed directly through direct contact with infected individuals or animals such as poultry or pigs.

The country’s Federal Public Health Service (FPS) announced it will be testing the wastewater arriving on flights from China landing at the three main airports in Brussels, Antwerp, and Ostend on Thursday and Sunday.

The tests will be carried out in collaboration with Belgium’s national laboratory for waterborne diseases (VLBO), which has been authorized by the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC). The bacteria that causes the coronavirus was first identified in 2012 and has since killed more than 500 people worldwide.

A spokeswoman for FPS told Newsweek that the samples would be taken on board before passengers disembarked, which she said was safer than taking them after passengers leave.

The Belgian government has not yet confirmed whether the testing will be carried out this summer or not. The country’s health minister said last week that Belgium would make an announcement about COVID in May and would then decide whether to implement it at all airports by August 2020.

“No samples need to be taken on board an aircraft,” she said. “We take them before the passengers come out because it is safer.”

The test will also be conducted at airports in China and Japan, where COVID has been detected in wastewater treatment plants and industrial effluents.

The Belgian government believes that if COVID can be detected in these countries’ wastewater treatment plants, it can be eliminated from their waste streams as well.

Belgium is leading with some innovative measures to contain the virus

Belgium is leading with some innovative measures to contain the virus. The virus is airborne and can be transmitted through the air, so it’s important to keep passengers clean when they disembark from flights arriving from China.

To prevent any possible spread of COVID, Belgian authorities are implementing several preventive measures. The samples will be taken on board before passengers disembarked from the aircraft and sent for testing at an authorized laboratory or at health institutions that specialize in infectious diseases such as hospitals or universities

Conclusion

“It’s just a precautionary measure,” the spokeswoman said. “We don’t know if it works or not.”