Here’s What Health Experts Say About Using Public Restrooms During The Covid 19 Pandemic

: Admin : 2020-05-26

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Do you remember the last time you used a public bathroom?

As governments reopen additional sectors of the economy, more people will be outside their homes for extended periods of time — and they may have no choice but to use the toilet at a park, office, or restaurant. After all, when you gotta go, you gotta go.

But, with the novel coronavirus still spreading throughout the country, is it safe to use public restrooms?

BuzzFeed News asked several infectious disease doctors, scientists, and public health experts whether they'd be comfortable using toilets outside their homes and other questions about the dos and don'ts of going potty in public during the pandemic.

In short, wherever you decide to pee or poo, please clean up after yourself and WASH

Is it safe to use public restrooms during the pandemic?

As we all know, public bathrooms can be gross, but the chance of getting COVID-19 there is probably low. The virus can be transmitted by touching contaminated surfaces, but the more common mode of transmission is through respiratory droplets, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The coronavirus isn't spreading around the world in public bathrooms," said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease physician and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. "That's not how this virus is infecting people and causing worldwide calamity."

Adalja said he personally wouldn't hesitate to use a public bathroom right now, but, as with any activity during a pandemic, there is always a risk.

Ideally, people should use the bathroom before they leave their homes — but when you are out and about and need to go, there are several things you can do to reduce the risk of transmitting an infectious disease, whether it's COVID-19 or something else.

"You’re basically kind of going in, to use a cute term, 'a bioweapons factory' — so there is no safe. There's only things you can do to mitigate risk," said Dr. Greg Poland, a professor of medicine and infectious diseases at the Mayo Clinic.

As with other common spaces, people should touch as little as possible and wash their hands with soap and water for 20 seconds. Poland said it's best to use a paper towel to turn the faucet off and open the door because studies have shown those surfaces harbor fecal bacteria.

Robin Patel, president of the American Society for Microbiology, said it's also a good idea to carry hand sanitizer with you in case the restroom is out of handwashing supplies.

Patel also suggested waiting for others to leave the bathroom before going inside.

"Before going into public restrooms, you may want to wait until no one else is inside; if others are there, you should try to stay at least 6 feet from them," she said.

Should I use a disposable seat cover or clean the seat with a disinfectant wipe before I sit?

Not all public bathrooms have disposable paper seat covers, and, at least in this reporter's experience, when they are available, they often run out. But are they a necessity in these times?

Most experts who talked to BuzzFeed News said no, because the coronavirus, which causes respiratory disease, is not transmitted through the skin. It's transmitted via the mouth, nose, and eyes.

The odds of catching the coronavirus from a toilet seat are incredibly low, according to Rosie Redfield, a microbiologist and professor in the University of British Columbia’s Department of Zoology.

"First, an infected person has to somehow get virus particles on their butt, and then the particles to be transferred from the skin to the toilet seat. And then some of them have to be transferred from the seat to your butt, and then some of them from your butt to your hands, and then from your hands to your face," Redfield told BuzzFeed News. "There are many more important things to worry about, like whether your face mask fits well enough to do its job."

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