Can COVID-19 Coronavirus Live In Water? What About Drinking Water And Swimming – Forbes

How safe is swimming during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic? (Photo: Getty)

It looks like the COVID-19 coronavirus may be able to live in water for a few days, potentially even a few weeks. There is a big but, though. And youll like this big but. Just because a virus can survive in water doesnt necessarily mean that its present in large enough concentrations to infect you.

Is this situation a bit like a teenager pointing out a few hairs on his face and then claiming that its a beard? There actually has to be enough hairs to make it a beard. When you can still count the number of hairs, its not a beard, unless, of course, the hairs are really, really long and very, very curly.

Similarly, consider what is known about the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in water. Indeed studies have suggested that the SARS-CoV2 could actually hang out in the wet stuff for a little while. For example, a study published in the journal Water Research in 2009 found that two viruses that have similarities to the original SARS virus, the transmissible gastroenteritis (TGEV) and mouse hepatitis (MHV) viruses, could survive up to days and even weeks in water. The University of North Carolina team (LisaCasanova, William A.Rutal, David J.Weber, and Mark D.Sobsey) that conducted the study concluded that coronaviruses can remain infectious for long periods in water and pasteurized settled sewage, suggesting contaminated water is a potential vehicle for human exposure if aerosols are generated.

Pictured here are sewer tunnels underneath the streets of Paris, France. (Photo: Getty)

Then there was the poopy study described by a paper posted April 17 on medRxiv. For this study, the team sampled sewage (you know, the watery stuff in sewers) in the greater Paris, France, area for over a month. They found that concentrations of the SARS-CoV2 correlated with the number of COVID-19 cases in the region over time. In other words, when COVID-19 cases were rising, so did the concentrations of the SARS-CoV2 in the sewage. This seems like one more reason why splashing sewage or taking a deep breath near sewage is probably not a great idea.

Take this second study with a grain of sewage though. It has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. That means real scientific experts havent had a chance to review the study for quality or accuracy. Telling people that youve posted something on medRxiv can be a bit like telling people that youve auditioned for Americas Got Talent. Theres no guarantee that this study will ever make it close to the final stage of getting published in a reputable peer-reviewed scientific journal.

Regardless, the results from both studies do suggest that the virus can survive for a little while in water, which initially may cause you to wet yourself. Before you do, heres the big but again. Neither study showed that you can actually get infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus from water under the conditions that youd normally be exposed to water. That means via drinking (assuming that you arent drinking sewage or some other type of dirty water), showering, or swimming (assuming that you dont swim in sewage.)

The CDC and EPA have emphasized the safety of drinking water supplies. (Photo: Getty)

In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the COVID-19 coronavirus hasnt even been found in drinking water. And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said that the risk to water supplies is low. Americans can continue to use and drink water from their tap as usual. Such a virus would have to get through all of the filtration and water treatments that drinking water typically goes through, and that can be harder than getting on to the red carpet at the Oscars.

Moreover, the great thing about water is that its water. It tends to dilute things. Even if the COVID-19 coronavirus were to somehow make the epic journey of getting into your drinking water, it may not be at high enough concentrations to be of risk to you. This goes back to the whole beard thing. Every virus has a minimum infectious dose, the amount of virus that needs to be present to cause illness. Although its not completely clear yet what the minimum infectious dose for SARS-CoV-2 may be, dilution makes it less likely that what reaches you can surpass this threshold.

The same probably goes for water in pools and hot tubs. The CDC indicates that there is no evidence that the virus that causes COVID-19 can be spread to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, spas, or water play areas. For these things, not only would the water dilute the virus, but also disinfection with chlorine and bromine would likely inactivate the virus.

If you are actually thinking of swimming or soaking in a pool or tub that is not properly chlorinated or bromated, dont. Just dont. Theres a whole lot of other nasty, disease-causing microbes that could then be swimming or soaking along with you. The poop about many swimming pools and hot tubs is thats what people may do in them. As I have described previously for Forbes, 24% of respondents to the2019 Healthy Pools survey indicated that they would enter a swimming pool "within one hour of having diarrhea." Yes, diarrhea. Yes, within one hour of having it. And those are just the people who admitted to doing this. Still dont want to social distance from others?

As for the ocean, it is pretty big. Then theres the motion of the ocean, so to speak. Both of these aspects can dilute and separate viruses fairly quickly. The salt in the water may decrease the survival of the virus as well.

This doesnt mean that you should rush to the beach to do whats seen in this Reuters video:

Sun of a beach. Does this look like social distancing to you? Is everyone in the video staying six feet away from each other? Six feet apart means roughly one Denzel Washington apart, since Washington is about six feet tall. See any people less than one Denzel apart?

When it comes to the COVID-19 coronavirus, the riskiest thing at swimming pools, hot tubs, and oceans is not the water itself. No, its the coughing, sneezing, panting, face-rubbing, and diarrhea-ing things that are in or next to the water: people. Its also the things that people touch frequently such as guard rails, chairs, towels, and thongs.

Do not do this. Not as long as the COVID-19 coronavirus is circulating. (Photo: Getty_

So, the key once again will be doing what you should be doing on land: practicing good social distancing, good hand hygiene, good disinfecting (of objects), and good avoid-touching-your-enormous face. And if you see any random objects such as a sign post, a statue, or a thong, dont touch it if you dont have to do so. You dont know where it has been. Actually, in the case of a thong, you know exactly where its been. Thats the problem.

Also, wait until beaches, swimming pools, and other water areas are officially open before going to them. Yes, staying inside is not easy. Yes, there are only so many episodes of Breaking Bad that you can watch or mind games that you can play with your cat. But patience now will pay off later.

Once such places are officially open, it wont be the time to release the kraken, so to speak. Sure you may have stored up all this energy, all those ingenious pick-up lines that probably wont work anyway, and all the urges to do what you have done before while cooped up inside. But (theres that word again), try to remember that the virus is still circulating. It will be some time before it is water under the bridge.

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Can COVID-19 Coronavirus Live In Water? What About Drinking Water And Swimming - Forbes