Flushing public urinals can spread COVID-19, study finds
By: Jorge Fitz-Gibbon (New York Post)
Great, now we have to wear diapers, too.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Flushing a urinal causes an "alarming upward flow" of coronavirus-laden particles, a new study has found — prompting health experts to recommend wearing face coverings in public bathrooms.
Researchers in China found that COVID-19 particles from a flushing urinal can shoot up to two feet in the air in less than 6 seconds — potentially infecting the unsuspecting urinal user, according to a report published in Physics of Fluids.
"Urinal flushing indeed promotes the spread of bacteria and viruses," said Xiangdong Liu, one of the Yangzhou University researchers behind the study, USA Today reported Tuesday.
"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," Liu said.
The findings come in the wake of a study by the university in June that found that flushing a toilet can help spread the deadly virus by hurling droplets up to three feet away — that can then linger in the air for up to a minute.
Researchers in that study said the droplets can spew out from a flushed toilet within 70 seconds and leap as much as a foot above the bowl.
Both studies present potentially dangerous scenarios amid the deadly global pandemic.
"Potentially, it could contaminate other surfaces you would touch — the handle, the tap," University of Arizona virology professor Charles Gerba told USA Today. "The concern is also, was there anything left over from the person who was there before? Aerosolization from the previous user you may potentially inhale?"
Gerba said most people are unaware that urine and stool release particles into the air, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
"It's probably been overlooked — urine contamination," he told the outlet. "Smallpox, Zika virus are excreted in the urine. What's surprising is that a respiratory virus can be excreted in the urine."
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You know, this is how the virus spreads in live markets, too. So, we've come full circle to how the pandemic started.
We can pretty much be sure a little piggy technician from the Wuhan virus lab went to the live market and infected patient zero + 1
What's surprising is how little anger is pointed at the source of the pandemic and the Chinese government's initial denial of the problem, and then their lack of diligent sharing of information that allowed it to spread.
Seems to me, many other governments denied the problem existed also, some for months, not weeks.
I distinctly remember one head of state saying they only had 15 cases which would all disappear soon, like magic...
A reminder that all of us should have learned around kindergarten age and it's only three words:
Wash your hands!!
End of public service message ......
And don't flush!
Actually the article starts out talking about urinals, then seems to blur the lines between urinals and commodes, however they do
recommend keeping the mask on while in those pesky public restrooms.
I guess all those hellish holes in the floors throughout japan, Korea, Vietnam are actually safer?
hard to believe...
I hate it when people don't flush. Makes me want to go to their homes and leave a brown trout and some yellow in their commode just before they go on vacation so it can stew for a week or so to welcome them home.
The phobia some have with not flushing is ridiculous imo. All one has to do is simply wash ones hands after flushing and VOILA .... problem solved.
So please do your fellow citizens a favor ..... flush and then wash your hands.
Thx and much appreciated
I doubt flushing a toilet is anymore dangerous than touching a door knob or using a railing on stairs. When you touch things that hundreds of other people touch you need to wash your hands or use hand sanitizer. Don't touch your face or rub your eyes and wear your mask.
Or you could go with an " Upper-decker ".
People should wear masks, wash hands, and social distance, when they're out in the world. Clearly. But so far, there are still a lot of "maybes" in this story.
Some viruses can be excreted in this manner. Fine. Urinals can make aerosols. Fine.
What I'm not seeing here is a definitive declaration that Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2), specifically, is in the urine or feces to begin with at a dose that would infect anyone. Only that it's possible. Following the links from the story to a study and the information from other studies cited in that study , I see:
Also buried in a link to a link :
So eating those delicious urinal cakes is pretty much out of the question then? Asking for a friend...
No, I think it's ok. I haven't heard anything about the virus being transmitted through eating. Dig in!
Trying to stay safe from the virus is beyond annoying. We cannot sense it. It lingers on surfaces and can infect by contact. It is airborne and can infect when breathed in. It can infect a person (who then infects others) while being completely unaware of the infection (asymptomatic).
Better to err on the side of caution with this nightmare.