The City of Boise has been regularly testing wastewater for COVID-19 since May to learn more about community spread.
Recent wastewater samples submitted from Boise, Eagle, and Garden City have shown the presence of the UK and California variants, according to Central District Health.
CBS 2 reports the samples represent wastewater from about 290,000 people, though the results can’t tell the number of individuals infected. Sampling and testing are run through Boise and the University of Missouri laboratory.
Though recent wastewater testing found variants, Idaho has yet to confirm the presence of the variants among individuals who have tested positive.
Evidence of the two variants was found in wastewater samples submitted on Jan. 25 and 30, when COVID-19 case counts were higher than they have been in recent weeks.
