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Weather Alert

Weather Alert

...The Flood Warning continues for the following rivers in
Illinois...

Big Muddy River near Plumfield and Murphysboro.

.Levels on the Big Muddy River will continue to drop, falling below
flood stage at Plumfield Sunday, and at Murphysboro Monday.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Caution is urged when walking near riverbanks.

Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the
dangers of flooding.

Additional information is available at www.weather.gov.

&&

...FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MONDAY, APRIL 21...

* WHAT...Minor flooding is occurring and minor flooding is forecast.

* WHERE...Big Muddy River near Plumfield.

* WHEN...Until Monday, April 21.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...
- At 9:00 PM CDT Monday the stage was 25.6 feet.
- Forecast...The river is expected to fall below flood stage
late Sunday evening and continue falling to 19.1 feet Monday,
April 21.
- Flood stage is 20.0 feet.
- http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood

&&

Illinois launching statewide system to monitor COVID-19 in wastewater

  • 0
illinois coronavirus
By Travis Sloan

(WSIL) -- The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) are launching a statewide system to monitor the virus that causes COVID-19 and its variants in wastewater, providing  public health officials with early warnings of a potential outbreak on a county-by-county basis. 

The virus that causes COVID-19 is detectable in human waste nearly from the onset of infection, while symptoms may not appear for three to five days.

IDPH is providing $5.5 Million to build and support the monitoring system for the next year.

“Data generated through sampling wastewater will help public health officials better understand the extent of COVID-19 infections in communities,� said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “Wastewater testing has been used successfully in the past for early detection of diseases, such as polio. Measuring the virus levels in untreated wastewater can serve as an early indicator of increasing infections in a community and can inform our public health actions.” �

Together IDPH and DPI will implement the program in phases, starting with sampling and analysis in 10 Illinois counties, expanding to 35 counties in mid-summer, and to all 102 Illinois counties by the end of the year.  The 10 counties include Carroll, Cass, Franklin, Fulton, Jefferson, Lawrence, Livingston, Macon, Montgomery, and Vermilion.  

Wastewater monitoring involves treatment plant personnel collecting 8-ounce samples twice weekly and shipping them overnight for laboratory analysis.  A rapid, automated sample processing and analysis system will be built to measure SARS-CoV-2 levels, which will indicate a rise or fall of COVID-19 infections in the community served by the treatment plant.

Samples will be further analyzed at Argonne National Laboratory and IDPH laboratories using genetic sequencing to track COVID-19 variants.

“Wastewater analysis is an ideal method for understanding COVID-19 trends in communities, complementing individual testing and providing an early indicator of outbreaks,� said DPI Director of Research Dr. Venkat Venkatakrishnan.  “The testing is sensitive enough to detect a handful of COVID-19 cases in a population of tens of thousands yet is completely anonymous.�

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