A Look At Covid-19 (Coronavirus) Presence In Drinking Water

Covid-19 could be transmitted through drinking water! will be the most devastating news headline. For now there is no such news. Let's pray it remains so. Because if it is water borne disease like some viruses, expect the worst. The idea came to my mind the day I bought bottle water. As I opened it to cool my mind and quench my thirst, a dirty thought came over me. What if the worker at the water factory is infected and asymptomatic? What if the worker sneezes in the water before sealing? What if the water process is contaminated with covid-19? What if I drink this water? What if I could get infected from drinking the water? What if….

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Let us look at what scientists are saying about covid-19 and drinking water.

The covid-19 virus has been shown to survive outside a living tissue or cell. Depending on the surface and environmental factors, it can survive for hours to days. The maximum that has been determined by the world health organization (WHO) is 72 hours. But the quantity decreases over time. It is not infectious towards the end period. For example, If it can stay in wood for up to five days, most likely the quantity remaining from the fourth day is not enough to cause infection.

Drinking water

There is little research work done on covid-19 in drinking water. They only said that there is no record of the virus in water for now. But some research has been carried out for the other coronaviruses. Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has not been found in drinking water. It was observed that temperature, aerobic bacteria and organic matters played a significant role in determining how long they survive.

Enveloped viruses of which covid-19 fall into don't survive long in wastewater when compared with non-enveloped viruses.

For tap water containing organic matter and aerobic organisms, it took a few days for the virus to reduce to 99.9% at room temperature. Filtered water took 10 days to achieve the same result and 100 days when the temperature was lowered to 4°c.

Water treatment renders coronaviruses vulnerable to the oxidant effect of the chemicals added. Higher temperatures inactivate the virus. A temperature of 25°c is enough to do that which makes drinking water at room temperature safe. However, water at 4°c may not be able to reduce the number of viruses. So drinking cold water now may not be an avoidable idea.

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The reasons above mean that bottled water and public tap water Is safe for drinking. That is because they both pass through the same process of disinfection. Borehole water has never been studied for coronavirus. However, it looks safe for drinking. Because the water tank is up and the water is from the ground and straight to the tap. However, sharing bottle water and drinking cups with an infected person can spread the virus.

Please stay safe!

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