Longitudinal Wastewater-Based Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 in High-Density Student Dormitories in Singapore

Environmental surveillance of wastewater from student dormitories was carried out over an academic year at a university campus in Singapore. During the surveillance period, SARS-CoV-2 trends in campus wastewater levels closely resembled Singapore’s combined national wastewater levels and clinical COVID-19 cases. In the examined sewer sheds, larger student populations significantly increased both the odds and duration of detecting SARS-CoV-2 RNA (p-value < 0.001 for both measures). However, the type of building corridor did not have a statistically significant impact on either the duration of detection (p-value = 0.716) or the odds of detecting the virus (p-value = 0.067). This study exemplifies the use of a decentralized and high-resolution surveillance system for the twice-weekly detection of viral shedding in high-density living conditions to support public health decisions and management.