Water insecurity compounds the global coronavirus crisis

Staddon, C.; Everard, M.; Mytton, J.; Octavianti, T.; Powell, W.; Quinn, N.; Uddin, S.M.N.; Young, S.L.; Miller, J.D.; Budds, J.; Geere, J.; Meehan, K.; Charles, K.; Stevenson, E.G.J.; Vonk, J.; Mizniak, J.

doi:10.1080/02508060.2020.1769345

Water insecurity compounds the global coronavirus crisis

Staddon, C.; Everard, M.; Mytton, J.; Octavianti, T.; Powell, W.; Quinn, N.; Uddin, S.M.N.; Young, S.L.; Miller, J.D.; Budds, J.; Geere, J.; Meehan, K.; Charles, K.; Stevenson, E.G.J.; Vonk, J.; Mizniak, J.

Authors

C. Staddon

M. Everard

J. Mytton

T. Octavianti

W. Powell

N. Quinn

S.M.N. Uddin

S.L. Young

J.D. Miller

J. Budds

J. Geere

K. Meehan

K. Charles

Dr Edward Stevenson jed.stevenson@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor

J. Vonk

J. Mizniak

Abstract

In recent weeks, people all over the world have been settling into a ‘new normal’ of restricted mobility, online working, social distancing and enhanced hand hygiene. As part of the global fight against the spread of COVID-19 (the illness caused by SARS-CoV-2), we are repeatedly reminded by public health authorities that frequent and thorough hand-washing with soap and water is one of the best ways of limiting transmission. The rationale behind this is clear: washing regularly and thoroughly physically degrades and removes viral particles from hands, and therefore lowers the likelihood of infection transmission. Many health agencies are recommending washing hands for a minimum of 20 seconds up to 8–10 times per day. If washed in running water, the average hand basin tap uses 2–3 litres per minute, which implies a total water requirement of 8–10 litres of clean water per person per day, as well as appropriate soap and drying facilities (i.e. not a reused and possibly contaminated towel or rag).

Citation

Staddon, C., Everard, M., Mytton, J., Octavianti, T., Powell, W., Quinn, N., …Mizniak, J. (2020). Water insecurity compounds the global coronavirus crisis. Water International, 45(5), 416 -422. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2020.1769345

Journal Article Type	Article
Online Publication Date	Jun 9, 2020
Publication Date	2020
Deposit Date	Jun 30, 2020
Publicly Available Date	Dec 9, 2021
Journal	Water International
Print ISSN	0250-8060
Electronic ISSN	1941-1707
Publisher	Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	45
Issue	5
Pages	416 -422
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2020.1769345

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Copyright Statement
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Water international on 9 June 2020, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/02508060.2020.1769345