On September 29, the Department of Health (DOH) published a COVID-19 Wastewater Report that shows statewide COVID-19 cases have declined since early June and the Omicron subvariant BA.5 is the dominant strain of COVID-19 in Hawai‘i.

Wastewater surveillance is a tool used to monitor community COVID-19 levels as it can alert a shift in trends or the presence of new variants.

The Wastewater Report provides a summary of surveillance done as part of the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS). DOH coordinates collection of samples from 15 wastewater treatment plants across the state. The samples are analyzed by Biobot Analytics as part of the NWSS at no cost to Hawai‘i. Biobot Analytics now provides test results about a week after samples are collected.

“Data from wastewater testing aligns with other data sets,” said State Laboratories Division (SLD) Administrator Edward Desmond, Ph.D, D (ABMM) in a press release. Desmond continued,“Results from COVID-19 tests taken by individuals show case counts have dropped since June. This is consistent with data in the Wastewater Report which shows concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 have declined since June. Genome sequencing shows BA.5 is the most common subvariant in Hawai‘i. The Wastewater Report also supports that finding,”

The State Laboratories Division will publish a Wastewater Report every two weeks and it will be posted on the DOH COVID-19 Data Reports page.