By En Qi Teo, Staff Writer and Researcher for Save The Water™| May 15, 2020
Recently, April Day, our Publishing Director, wrote about whether drinking water was safe to consume during the Covid-19 pandemic. It remains true that treated drinking water is safe to consume, and global research concurs on this. [1] For those living in developed countries, there is no need to stock up on bottled water as a substitute to drinking water. [2] However, access to safe drinking water is still a concern for developing countries.
Transmission of Covid-19 through water
Most water treatment regimes are designed to remove coronaviruses from the water that is being treated. [3] Therefore, developed countries with robust water treatment regimes have no cause for concern. However, developing countries without safe access to treated water for all, are at particular risk for the spread of coronavirus through water. [4] In many countries without effective water infrastructure, water collected at wells by villagers may contain the virus. Coronaviruses are thought to be infectious in water for several days. [3] It was found in 2017 that 29% of people around the world do not have access to fully treated, safe and potable water. [5] This problem could potentially increase the spread of Covid-19 in developing countries that already face struggles in coping with the effect of the pandemic.
We previously wrote about water treatment facilities in developing countries here.
What can you do to help?
You can donate to organizations that specialize in providing access to treated water to disadvantaged communities.
References
- World Health Organization. March 19, 2020. “Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Waste Management for COVID-19.” World Health Organization Technical Brief. https://www.who.int/publications-detail/water-sanitation-hygiene-and-waste-management-for-covid-19
- Dewitt, Vera Robles & Katherman, Rob. March 31, 2020. “There’s No Need to Stockpile Water During Coronavirus Pandemic.” Daily News. https://www.dailynews.com/2020/03/31/theres-no-need-to-stockpile-water-during-coronavirus-pandemic/
- Naddeo, Vincenzo & Liu, Haizhou. “2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2): what is its fate in urban water cycle and how can the water research community respond?” Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology. https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2020/ew/d0ew90015j#!divAbstract
- Harvey, Fiona. March 22, 2020. “Poor water infrastructure puts world at greater risk from coronavirus.” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/22/water-saving-an-important-but-ignored-weapon-in-solving-climate-crisis-says-un
- World Health Organization. June 14, 2019. Fact Sheets. “Drinking-water.” https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drinking-water
