Under conditions of COVID-19 pandemic, considerable amounts of SARS-CoV-2 contained in household, municipal, and medical wastewaters inevitably reach natural water bodies. Possible preservation of virus infectivity in liquid environment is of a paramount epidemiological importance. Experiments demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 is resistant to multiple freezing/thawing cycles and retains its infectivity in tap and river water for up to 2 days at 20°C and 7 days at 4°C. In natural milk, its viability is preserved in a refrigerator for 6 days. The exposure of aquarium fish to the virus-containing water fails to cause any infection.
Keywords: COVID-19; contaminated wastewaters; rate of virus inactivation in wastewaters and natural fluids; tolerance to freezing/thawing.
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