Cody has passed the poop test.
One of the latest tools in the fight against COVID-19 is wastewater testing – using raw sewage as a indicator of whether is present in our community. Cody recently purchased a $10 thousand dollar Teledyne ISCO 6712C Compact Portable Sampler to accomplish this goal, sending the samples to the Massachusetts-based water epidemiology firm Biobot. The first samples were collected and sent to Biobot once the machine arrived.
The current prognosis is good news for everyone in Cody. To quote County Health Officer Dr. Aaron Billin: “The SARS-CoV-2 viral genome was not detected in untreated waste water in Cody, Wyoming. Combined with only 2 cases being diagnosed in Park County (one in a Park County Resident and one in a Big Horn County Resident), this suggests that we have been very successful in our local public health efforts. This is encouraging as we work towards recovery, but we must not let our guard down. Within the last 24 hours there has been an outbreak of 8 new cases elsewhere in the Big Horn Basin. We must continue to work to protect our vulnerable populations.” Unquote.
More tests will be undertaken as the summer tourist season progresses, but it goes to show that Cody has been fortunate to completely avoid the scourge of the virus – so far.
