PREMIUM Professor Rowland Kao (inset) said being able to detect and track areas at risk from outbreaks will become increasingly important as we go back into autumn and winter SCIENTISTS are devising an early warning system for Covid which they hope will prevent any future lockdowns. The researchers are developing ways of pooling geographical data on vaccine uptake with wastewater surveillance to identify virus hotspots and higher risk areas as they emerge. Genetic material from the virus is present in sewage and can help to pinpoint increases in prevalence without relying on people with symptoms seeking tests. The goal is for proactive and targeted local measures such as door-to-door ‘surge testing’ and intensive contact tracing to bring outbreaks under control quickly, before hospitals come under pressure.