Covid-19 City Sentinel will keep the coronavirus under surveillance with regular analyses of Benidorm wastewater

WATER company Hidraqua and Benidorm Town Hall will monitor the resort’s wastewater to detect the possible presence of SARS-CoV-2.
This is the virus responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic, and Dinaspsis – the innovation centre belonging to Hidraqua and parent company SUEZ – will follow the evolution of the virus in Benidorm’s wastewater.
This will give early warning of a new outbreak, explained Benidorm’s mayor Toni Perez as he announced the Covid-19 City Sentinel project.
“Benidorm is working constantly to find the solutions that will allow it to position itself as a safe and innovative tourism model adapted to the new reality,” Perez said. “Launching Sentinel is another example of these efforts.”
The collaboration of experts headed Dr Albert Bosch, an internationally-recognised specialist in aquatic virology adscribed to the University of Barcelona, guarantees the validation of the samples taken from Benidorm’s sewers, the mayor added.
Benidorm was the first Valencian Community municipality to use this highly developed method, he pointed out.
“Furthermore, it is brought here by a group with more than 20 years’ experience in this type of epidemiological scrutiny of wastewater,” he added.