SARS-CoV-2 Wastewater and COVID-19 Case Data from England and Wales

Wastewater samples from six sites in England and Wales contain SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations and physicochemical measurements from March to July 2020. Publicly collated COVID-19 positive test and related death counts for corresponding local authorities are also included.

Use Cases

• Correlate SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in wastewater with collated COVID-19 positive test counts to assess surveillance utility.
• Analyze trends in physicochemical water data alongside viral RNA levels to identify environmental factors affecting detection.
• Model the relationship between wastewater viral load and COVID-19 related death data for epidemiological forecasting.

Strengths

• Data integrates wastewater chemistry and viral RNA measurements with public health case and death records.
• Covers a defined 5-month period (March-July 2020) during the initial pandemic wave.
• Samples collected from six distinct geographic sites across England and Wales.

Limitations

• Dataset size (rows, samples) is unspecified, limiting assessment of statistical power.
• COVID-19 case and death data are aggregated at the local authority level, not directly linked to individual wastewater samples.
• Temporal coverage is limited to the first half of 2020 and may not reflect later viral variants.

Provenance

Source

Environmental Information Data Centre

Collection Method

Wastewater samples collected from six treatment plants; COVID-19 data collated from publicly available records.

Time Range

March to July 2020

Freshness

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Geography

Six sites across England and Wales