- April 26, 2024
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Palm Coast officials are having the city's wastewater tested for evidence of COVID-19, and the Florida Department of Health in Flagler County has already used the first batches of results from those tests to determine where to place new COVID-19 drive-thru testing locations.
The Health Department has added a testing location at the Italian American Club due to evidence of apparent cases in the F-Section area, and plans to add another at Mount Calvary Baptist Church next week due to evidence of cases in the W-Section, Florida Department of Health Medical Director Stephen Bickel said during the city of Palm Coast's Virtual Town Hall on Sept. 2.
"This really helps us direct our efforts," Bickel said. "It has a lot of potential uses; we’re still learning about those."
City Manager Matt Morton said the wastewater testing for COVID-19 is a novel application of a time-tested strategy.
The city has developed six discrete testing zones and overlaid those on a map showing schools and assisted living facilities, so that officials can see whether or not a school or assisted living facility might be an epicenter of an outbreak, he said.
"We can test broad populations very, very quickly, and on a scale, it’s affordable," Morton said. "This data that we’re getting absolutely can help our community understand and even get ahead of potential outbreaks."
The information, Bickel said, can help health department staff see whether particular areas within the city are getting better or worse.
The information can also serve as another trend measurement that can be correlated to existing information so that officials can get a more complete picture of the virus in the community.
With the wastewater testing, said Florida Department of Health-Flagler Health Officer Bob Snyder, "We just have a wonderful picture that we’ve been able to identify for helping us make decisions going forward."
