Did you know that flushing the public toilet could also spread COVID-19?

According to a Fortune report, Chinese researchers from the Yangzhou University found in a recent study that the flushing action from toilets and urinals releases clouds of virus-contaminated aerosols. This makes public restrooms high-risk locations for transmission of the viral infection.

The scientists have suggested that a mask should be worn at all times in the restrooms.

“Wearing a mask should be mandatory within public restrooms during the pandemic, and anti-diffusion improvements are urgently needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.” 
Researchers

Flushing a toilet or a urinal has always posed a hygiene risk since the operation triggers an interaction between gas and air. The researchers found that urinals pose a higher risk in this regard. Their study, titled Virus Transmission from Urinals, has been published in the journal Physics of Fluids.

The experiment entailed a model that tracked aerosol particles that were expelled by the flushing. They discovered that for a urinal, the harmful aerosol particles could rise to the height of an average man’s thigh level within five and a half seconds. The same effect takes half a minute to occur when a toilet is flushed.

Early this year, Chinese researchers had warned that the virus transmission can occur through faecal matter. This latest study adds to the previous evidence that the COVID-19 infection can spread through public restrooms.

(With Inputs from Fortune)

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Published: 20 Aug 2020,11:29 AM IST

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