Properly chlorinated pool water neutralizes the coronavirus, scientists from the British Imperial College London say. This confirms previous reports that you cannot catch COVID-19 from swimming pool water if the water is properly protected. This applies to all ways of decontaminating such places.
- 1,5 mg of chlorine per liter of water reduces the infectivity of the SARS virus—CoV—2 over a thousand times in 30 seconds – according to research by British scientists
- The latest discoveries confirm earlier reports by specialists that properly disinfected swimming pool water cannot be a source of COVID-19 infection
- The UK pools opened on April 12. In Poland, sports facilities remain closed until at least May 3
- More current information can be found on the Onet homepage.
Pool water can inactivate COVID-19 in as little as 30 seconds, according to a study by virologists at Imperial College London, a university specializing in medical research.
The research was conducted in collaboration with Swim England, the UK’s central swimming body, Water Babies, a company that deals with swimming lessons for children, and the Royal Life Saving Society UK, a water safety foundation. The reason for the research was the reopening of swimming pools in the UK on April 12.
The research was led by prof. Wendy Barclay, virologist and respiratory virus expert, in collaboration with Dr. Jonathan Brown and research technician Maya Moshe of Imperial College London.
The study found 1,5 mg of chlorine per liter of water with a pH between 7–7,2 reduced viral infectivity by more than 1000-fold in 30 seconds. Additional testing of different chlorine content and pH ranges confirmed that chlorine in the pool water was more effective at the lower pH.
– We conducted these experiments in our laboratories. By mixing the virus with the pool water that was provided to us by the Water Babies team, we were able to show that the virus does not survive in the pool water. It ceases to be contagious in it – said prof. Barclay.
- Read also: The dangers lurking in the pool
‘This, combined with the enormous dilution of the virus that an infected person can enter the pool, suggests that the chance of contracting COVID-19 via pool water is negligible,’ added the professor. Research has shown that the risk of transmission of coronavirus from swimming pool water is low and is proof that swimming pools can be a safe place if appropriate measures are taken, of course.
British research confirms what the World Health Organization reported last year. Even a small concentration of chlorine in the swimming pool water neutralizes COVID-19.
The same applies to ozonation, another method of water disinfection for testing. Ozone, in the right concentration, kills bacteria, mites, allergens and also viruses.
«According to the available scientific knowledge, the transmission of the virus occurs mainly by droplets. There is little scientific evidence to suggest fecal-oral transmission of the virus. In connection with the above, the risk of coronavirus infection through contact with water in the swimming pool used by infected people is low »- you could read on the website of the Ministry of Health.
– The risk of getting infected by the water itself should be considered negligible, but the problem is, for example, talking together in the locker room or at the swimming pool itself, e.g. on the edge of the swimming pool. If there are several people at the pool, separately at each track and they enter and leave the locker rooms at different times, the risk is minimal, but it will be difficult to comply with – said Maciej Pawłowski, MD, PhD in an interview with Medonet.
- Is it safe to use the pools? Doctor: the risk of infection from water is not a problem
– If the virus is outside, in the air, in water, on surfaces then yes, simple disinfectants kill the virus. From alcohol to soap, any agents that dissolve and penetrate into its casing can deactivate it – Dr. Piotr Gryglas, a cardiologist and internist, argued last year on TVN24.
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