The myth that coronavirus can spread through water pipes, making it dangerous to use tap water for drinking and washing purposes, allegedly originated in Israeli-based social media.
These speculations even prompted the national Water Authority to come up with the clarification that there was “no connection” between the number of coronavirus cases in the country and the quality of drinking water.
“The virus does not pass through the sewer systems and therefore there is no danger of getting the virus through them”, the authorities were quoted by Maariv news as saying.
רשות המים מבהירה: אין קשר בין הנגיף קורונה לאיכות מי השתייה בישראל.
— מעריב אונליין (@MaarivOnline) March 9, 2020
בנוסף, הנגיף אינו עובר דרך מערכות הביוב ועל כן אין כל סכנה מהידבקות בנגיף דרך מערכות אלו.
The WHO representative, Tariq Lazarevich, supported the officials’ claim by telling Sputnik, that there was no scientific proof that coronavirus can be spread through water pipes.
“There is no scientific evidence to the credibility of this fact”, Lazarevich said when commenting on the possibility of the virus’ transmission through the tap water.
The WHO earlier debunked another myth circulating in social media that coronavirus was able to remain in the air and infect those passing in the same place minutes or hours after a corona-infected patient. The organisation insisted that the virus can be transmitted only from person to person through saliva or other bodily fluids but it was “too heavy” to survive in the air.
The coronavirus has caused more than 40,000 deaths around the globe so far, according to WHO data, with more than 800,000 cases of infection being reported in the world by 1 April.
