New research suggests flushing may release aerosol droplets containing coronavirus

By this time, we know the drill to protect ourselves against a possible coronavirus infection: wash your hands, cover your mouth with masks, sanitize, keep your distance— and close the lid of your toilet bowl.

You read it right. According to a report by The Washington Post, a new research suggests that aerosol droplets forced upward by a flush can spread and linger long enough for them to be inhaled.

While coronavirus has been found in feces of those carrying the infection— and gastrointestinal symptoms of the virus are now well-documented— the scientists are unsure whether such clouds can contain enough virus to infect. So then the best suggestion, according to the report, is to put a lid on it.

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"Flushing will lift the virus up from the toilet bowl," Ji-Xiang Wang, who researches fluids at Yangzhou University in Yangzhou, China, said. He added that bathroom users need to "close the lid first" and then flush.

Charles P. Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona who has studied the relation between toilets and diseases for the past 45 years, said that the risk of infection is "not zero" but that we don't know just "how great a risk it is" either.

"The big unknown is how much virus is infectious in the toilet when you flush it … and how much virus does it take to cause an infection," Gerba told the newspaper.

According to the newspaper, a study of air samples conducted in Wuhan, China, where the pandemic originated, found that coronavirus aerosols were higher in toilet areas used by patients. Some of the symptoms of the virus include vomiting and diarrhea, but the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that it is unclear whether virus found in feces can cause the disease.

But until clear evidence emerges, Gerba's advise remains simple: Flush and run after using a public toilet without a lid.

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