Des Moines' sewage is carrying twice as much coronavirus as it did two weeks ago

The amount of coronavirus floating in Des Moines area sewage has more than doubled in two weeks, a new report shows.

The Des Moines Metropolitan Wastewater Authority has been sending in samples of sewage for coronavirus testing since July. Such screening offers a rough measure of how prevalent a virus is in a community. The answer in central Iowa: Very prevalent.

Des Moines' latest sample, taken on Aug. 18, had a higher concentration of coronavirus than found in 85% of samples sent in by other U.S. cities, the new report says. The concentration also was more than twice what was found in Des Moines' Aug. 4 sample, and more than seven times as much as was found in the area's July 19 sample.

The rising coronavirus levels in sewage come as the state faces surging infections and hospitalizations, fueled by the highly transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus.
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