Today’s entry: Did I hear you right? Did you really say the coronavirus is in the water? That’s a new one!
Bottom Line: You heard me correctly. It’s possible. The recent floods from the record Memorial Day rainfall in South Florida have presented a new wrinkle and potential risk. The possibility of coronavirus flowing down your street. I spoke of this yesterday because of a recent warning from FIU’s infectious disease expert, Dr. Aileen Marty.
Dr. Marty said South Florida’s wastewater is flush with COVID-19 and could pose a risk in society if untreated wastewater flowed into waterways or into the ocean where people might come in contact with it. It was my observation that if the virus is in wastewater, the localized flooding we’ve experienced could contain wastewater, which would contain the virus. This would certainly not be the time for your kids to be puddle jumping, just in case. The CDC says this about wastewater risk, "The virus that causes COVID-19 has been found in untreated wastewater. Researchers do not know whether this virus can cause disease if a person is exposed to untreated wastewater or sewerage systems".
This jibes with Dr. Marty’s concerns and while we don’t know if anyone has obtained COVID-19 through wastewater, I’m pretty sure no one wants to find out. Heck, when it comes to wastewater, coronavirus might not even be the biggest concern with what’s in the water. One of the more interesting notes of Dr. Marty was her concern about COVID-19 reaching our beaches. While water quality is always a concern, I don’t think many of us would envision viruses being transmitted in salt water but it’s possible. As was pointed out by FIU, we’re rather salty creatures ourselves. Viruses being transmitted in water is anything but new.
However, a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health last year found that, "viruses are a major cause of recreationally-associated waterborne diseases linked to pools, lakes, ponds, thermal pools/spas, rivers, and hot springs. They can make their way into waters through the accidental release of fecal matter, body fluids (saliva, mucus), or skin flakes by symptomatic or asymptomatic carriers." So, the concern of viruses in water is anything but new. It’s just the concern about it specifically being COVID-19.
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