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Researchers are nearing completion of a mathematical algorithm to help pinpoint the source of coronavirus infections within sewer systems. Reports arose earlier in the pandemic of universities and cities looking to sewage for traces of the virus, to more quickly identify and isolate virus cases; each flush from an infected person sends genetic remnants of the virus into sewage systems. A company called Biobot, for instance, has worked with about 400 facilities in 42 states to map virus concentrations in sewage over time, with current data representing over 10% of the U.S. population, a spokesperson told Fox News.

COVID-19 has caused massive disruption around the globe. That includes the myriad of science conferences held each year. With the pandemic now forcing the cancellation of nearly all in-person events, these conferences have gone virtual.

Rich Collins is trapped in the maze of coronavirus-related travel restrictions in the Northeast. The Rhode Island firefighter has custody of his 5-year-old daughter every other weekend in an agreement with his ex-wife, but he can't bring her to his home because she lives in upstate New York. “The problem is, if I bring my daughter to Rhode Island for her weekend here, then when she goes back to New York — due to Rhode Island being on New York's quarantine list — she can’t go to school. She has to quarantine for 14 days," said Collins, 36, of Warwick.

“High compliance with voluntary quarantine—where the entire household stays home if there is a person with symptoms or risk of exposure in the household—has a significant impact on reducing the spread,” says Pinar Keskinocak, professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE) and director of the Center for Health and Humanitarian Systems at Georgia Institute of Technology.

Earlier this year, a team of Yale researchers showed that the concentration of COVID-19 RNA in sewage mirrors the spread of the disease through a population. In a new study, they find that testing sewage can serve as an early indicator of an outbreak relative to hospitalizations, and also use the data to assess the effectiveness of Connecticut’s stay-at-home order this spring.