Initial communities have been chosen for COVID-19 wastewater surveillance networks in New Brunswick.

The initial pilot sites include the greater Moncton area and Natoaganeg First Nation near Miramichi.

Additional sites are being investigated with support from the provincial and federal governments, the province said in a news release on Monday.

Wastewater surveillance has become a crucial tool for public health authorities because it is a low-cost option to obtain non-invasive biological samples from the population.

It can also help decision-makers understand the status of community infection.

A committee created the project with representation from the Health, Environment, and Local Government departments, the regional health authorities, Indigenous Services Canada, and the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Samples are currently being tested at the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre Laboratory in Moncton but are also being sent to the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg for validation and metagenomic sequencing.