Coronavirus traces found in Mass. wastewater are back on the upswing

Revere firefighters line up for their weekly testsPat Greenhouse/Globe Staff

In a worrisome signal, the amount of coronavirus found in the wastewater at the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s Deer Island treatment plant has reached the highest levels yet of the fall surge.

New highs in virus detections were reached for both the northern section of the MWRA system, which includes Boston, and the southern section. Detections recently ticked downward for the southern section, but were back on the rise as of the latest tests, which were conducted Wednesday.

The pilot program looks for SARS-CoV-2 RNA copies per milliliter of wastewater. Officials are hoping the tests can serve as an early warning system for virus surges. Like other coronavirus metrics, the charts show two major surges, one in the spring one happening right now.

Coronavirus traces in the wastewater for the northern section of the MWRA system have reached a fall high.MWRA

Coronavirus traces in the wastewater for the southern section of the MWRA system have reached a fall high.MWRA