The widespread, nationwide coronavirus outbreak in the United States is pushing the country's testing infrastructure to its limits in recent months, issuing a dark omen for the coming fall and winter months. Many government and health officials fear that a second wave of mass infections will arise in the coming months due to populations staying indoors where the virus can spread more effectively. On Wednesday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo that New York City's restaurants and bars may not be allowed to reopen for indoor service during the colder months, which could lead to a domino effect of other states and cities issuing similar orders in effort to control the virus' spread.

While many companies like Quest Diagnostics (DGX  ) have worked to rise their testing complicity ahead of the winter months, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is looking towards another testing method: sewage water.

The C.D.C. announced earlier this week, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other federal agencies, that it is issuing a National Wastewater Surveillance System to test for COVID-19. The agency is currently developing a portal for U.S. health departments to submit their wastewater testing data into a national database for "use in summarizing and interpreting" the level of coronavirus infection throughout the country. The health agency hopes the the database will help detect the virus' asymptomatic spread within the United States.

According to the World Health Organization, signs of coronavirus infection can be found within an individuals' stool and levels of the virus' RNA can be found present in untreated sewage water. The global health agency recently stated that the monitoring of human waste water can be used as an environmental surveillance of the coronavirus within a population. Wastewater can provide communities with early detection of the virus, especially in areas with limited clinical surveillance, and can be used to monitor the level of its circulation.

Treatment Update

The pharmaceutical giant Roche (RHHBY  ) announced on Wednesday that it will help the manufacturing and global development of Regeneron Pharmaceutical's (REGN  ) antibody cocktail REGN-COV2 for the potential treatment and prevention of COVID-19. Under the deal, Roche will be responsible for the drug's worldwide distribution after the antibody cocktail receives all necessary regulatory approval that it is both safe and effective. Roche's partnership with Regeneron comes after its own antibody drug, Actemra, failed to treat or prevent COVID-19 in early trials, according to Reuters.

Regeneron stated that it expects to present positive data from its ongoing clinical trials for REGN-COV2 in humans next month, its next step after the drug treated and prevented coronavirus infection in animal studies. The two companies stated that they will run more clinical studies of the cocktail to evaluate the best use for it against COVID-19.

The antibody cocktail is a mix of an antibody isolated from individuals who survived coronavirus infection and a man-made antibody designed by the drugmaker. The United States has already funded Regeneron in a $450 million deal to provide up to 300,000 potential treatment does or 1.3 million prevention doses to the federal government.