[EvaH (OP)]

Craig asks:

A few months ago there was news of testing at sewage treatment plants for the level of Covid in the area. If it’s possible to find Covid in these locations would it not be conceivable to test peoples urine to fine out if they have COVID-19?

What do you think?

[alancalverd]

IIRC testing for virus is a slow and expensive business, which is why antibody tests are preferred for personal monitoring, but sewage monitoring labs can concentrate a lot of resources on a single sample.

[evan_au]

It's true that the kidney is actively involved in blood pressure control, so it has a lot of ACE-2 receptors that let in the virus.
- So kidneys infected with the virus is a likely scenario
- And some of that virus finding its way into urine would not be a surprise.

Apparently, diarrhea is an occasional symptom of COVID-19, so infection of the gut is also possible.
- This would require a stool sample rather than urine sample
- But both come together at the sewage plant (at least in the majority of countries that don't use urine-separating toilets).