Whether itB次元官网网址檚 a beach getaway or lakeside lounge, or a quick dip in a community pool, re-introducing water-based activities to daily life could be a lot more worrisome this year.

How safe will these warm-weather pastimes be with the COVID-19 pandemic lingering into the summer months?

While experts say the novel coronavirus can live in water for hours to days, the risk of actually picking it up from swimming is low. The real danger for infection is from people who will be flocking to those areas once theyB次元官网网址檝e reopened across the country.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not saying stay away from beaches, IB次元官网网址檓 saying stay away from crowds,B次元官网网址� said Colin Furness, a professor at the University of TorontoB次元官网网址檚 Dalla Lana School for Public Health. B次元官网网址淚f the beach is crowded, stay away.

B次元官网网址淎t the same time, and I wouldnB次元官网网址檛 want people freaking out, but we do need to understand that yes, the virus will live in water.B次元官网网址�

Living in water and being infectious in water are different things, though. And experts seem torn on what that means for COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says on its website B次元官网网址渢here is no evidence that the virus that causes COVID-19 can be spread to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, spas, or water play areas.B次元官网网址�

Curtis Suttle, an expert in ocean microbiology and immunology at the University of British Columbia, agrees, saying any amount of virus thatB次元官网网址檚 being shed in the water likely wonB次元官网网址檛 result in spreading the infection.

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B次元官网网址淧eople shouldnB次元官网网址檛 be afraid of the water, they should be afraid of infected people,B次元官网网址� he said.

Furness, meanwhile, says there could be a chance a person might get COVID-19 from swimming, if the virus settles in their intestinal tract after being swallowed.

He stressed that the risk level of that is likely very low. And the severity of it is still unclear.

B次元官网网址淗aving it in your intestines might not be as bad as breathing it in and having it take root in your lungs, but all the things weB次元官网网址檙e learning about COVID suggests that you just donB次元官网网址檛 want (it in) your body at all,B次元官网网址� Furness said. B次元官网网址漇o there is a risk there. But of course, you see, the odds of this happening are infinitesimally small.B次元官网网址�

Furness said diarrhea, which has been a documented, though less common, symptom of COVID-19 might signal a person has contracted the coronavirus intestinally.

A study published Monday in the journal Radiology found bowel abnormalities in a small percentage of patients studied, suggesting the intestine B次元官网网址渕ay be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淲e know the virus spike has an affinity for lung cells and intestinal cells, so itB次元官网网址檚 quite happy to be swallowed and could make its way into your intestines and infect you there,B次元官网网址� Furness said. B次元官网网址淣ow where does it go from there? This is stuff weB次元官网网址檙e still learning.

B次元官网网址淏ut the real question in all of this is: Are you at a crowded beach or a crowded pool? If (you are) and thereB次元官网网址檚 people splashing around everywhere, thereB次元官网网址檚 more likely to be virus in the water. But youB次元官网网址檙e also more likely just to get breathed on in that scenario.B次元官网网址�

The amount of virus present in a body of water will depend on a number of things. And plenty of environmental factors can lessen the virusB次元官网网址檚 ability to infect a host.

Furness said an outdoor pool B次元官网网址� provided itB次元官网网址檚 not crowded B次元官网网址� would be the safest swimming environment because chlorine used to treat water can kill the coronavirus B次元官网网址渁fter about 15 minutes.B次元官网网址� Heat from the sun also acts to limit the virusB次元官网网址檚 power, and it wonB次元官网网址檛 remain viable for long on concrete pool decks like it can on other softer surfaces.

While indoor pools also contain chlorine, the absence of sunlight make them the least safe option, Furness said, especially considering the number of high-touch surfaces in change rooms and on pool ladders.

Lakes and oceans, while missing chlorine, offer their own benefits, says Suttle. ThereB次元官网网址檚 a dilution effect due to the sheer volume of water, and UV deactivates the virus B次元官网网址漴eally quickly.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淐oronaviruses arenB次元官网网址檛 that different than many viruses which can actually survive for quite long periods of time in the water under ideal conditions,B次元官网网址� Suttle said. B次元官网网址淏ut if you look at the average half-life B次元官网网址� about half of the virus would be removed every four hours. So they donB次元官网网址檛 persist very long, typically.B次元官网网址�

Suttle says people generally ingest B次元官网网址渕illionsB次元官网网址� of viruses every time they go swimming in natural waters like lakes or oceans.

The majority of them wonB次元官网网址檛 affect humans, however.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e actually surrounded by a sea of viruses,B次元官网网址� Suttle said. B次元官网网址漈hereB次元官网网址檚 about 10 million viruses in every millilitre of seawater, but they donB次元官网网址檛 make us sick, right? B次元官网网址� Being able to detect it doesnB次元官网网址檛 necessarily mean that itB次元官网网址檚 infectious.B次元官网网址�

Furness stressed more research may be needed to get a true answer.

B次元官网网址淭here may be sides to this we donB次元官网网址檛 know and weB次元官网网址檒l have to keep an eye out,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e may find outbreaks associated with pools and then again, we might not.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 an evolving situation B次元官网网址� (because) this is a new virus. A lot of what we say is assumption based on the way other viruses behave. And we canB次元官网网址檛 be all that certain.B次元官网网址�

Melissa Couto, The Canadian Press

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