Scope RHDHV

The activities under WP3 were as follows:

Activity 3.1 - Collection of COVID-19 health and surveillance data and associated open data (see the Chapter about Collection of Covid-19 health & wastewater surveillance data and associated open data).

This activity involved establishing a data standardisation and digitisation protocol to ensure adequate translation of testing data reported through WP1 and WP2 into a usable digital format. The reported data for health and wastewater surveillance for COVID-19 cases and SARS-COV-2 respectively, as well as hospitalisations associated with respiratory infections, were extracted from the surveillance databases in South Africa and the Corona Dashboard in the Netherlands. The Municipal Health Services (Gemeenschappelijke Gezondheidsdienst or GGD) in the Netherlands were unable to provide us with health data directly (as they were not partners on this project), so health data on a municipal level extracted from the national Dutch dashboard was used.

Other available information relevant to the spread of COVID-19 in both countries was collected and visualised. The results were captured in a database designed for this purpose. External communication of these results was also discussed with national Public Health authorities in both countries (see the section about Stakeholder Engagement).

Activity 3.2 – Data combination, statistical analysis and modelling (see the Chapter about Data combination, statistical analysis and modelling).

The distribution of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA presence and concentration in waste(water) streams in the selected metropolitan areas were compared to the data on COVID-19 prevalence in the Dutch and South African population where possible. Correlation and time-series analyses were carried out to identify relevant trends. Attempts to predict trends in prevalence based on results from waste(water) streams were challenging due to the lack of sufficient data for predictive modelling. This activity was linked to activity 4 of WP1. Results were summarised and presented as charts and maps, illustrating distribution of the virus in the selected areas.