Benidorm will renew the coronavirus detection service in wastewater for another six months City Sentinel

The Local Government Board (JGL) will approve on Monday the extension for six months of the City Sentinel control and monitoring service on a digital platform of the presence of the coronavirus in the wastewater of Benidorm sewerage network, as stated in the proposal made by the Councillor for Water Cycle, José Ramón González de Zárate.

This service, which was approved and implemented in July 2020, has been renewed every six months due to the persistence of the pandemic.

Once the term has expired, the government team has considered it appropriate to maintain the service, which will be extended for an amount of 39,780 euros to carry out 156 analyses, and a unit price of 190 euros for additional analyses, charged to the Funds of Investment committed by the concessionaire company of Municipal Potable Water and Sewage Service, Hidraqua.

This tool, developed by Suez Spain group, makes it possible to monitor the evolution of the virus in wastewater and anticipate the appearance of possible new outbreaks in the population. The councillor José Ramón González de Zárate has highlighted the "convenience" of extending the service "because it offers us very valuable data on the evolution of the pandemic in Benidorm and we believe that due to the current health situation, it is still necessary to have it and also to be able to make the decision easier.”

The mayor stressed that "from the beginning, we have worked to implement all the necessary solutions to position ourselves as a safe, innovative tourism model adapted to the new reality and the City Sentinel is one more example that has put Benidorm at the forefront and that is aligned with the objectives of our city and destination strategy, allows us to be better and have more health guarantees”.

The launch of the platform has made it possible to obtain data on the presence of viral genomes in each of the nine sectors into which Benidorm was divided according to criteria of equivalent population, "which have been important to know, along with other health data, the evolution of the pandemic and its incidence by neighbourhoods” the mayor pointed out.

The service of City Sentinel begins with the collection of representative samples that are analyzed and the results of which are automatically transferred to a digital platform. The tool allows the data to be visualized graphically through a dynamic map of the municipality by sectors and areas of influence that makes it easier to trace the origin of SARS-Cov-2. In addition, it serves as a unique observatory of aggregate information by combining the analytical results with the health evolution indicators of the municipality.

It allows the City Council and the health administrations to pay more attention to critical and high-risk buildings and facilities, such as residences, hospitals or health centres, as well as unique high-occupancy buildings.