G. Nagendra Prabhu, Principal Investigator, Centre for Research on Aquatic Resources, S.D. College, Alappuzha, said the move to convert houseboats into COVID-19 care centres needed a “serious rethink.”
In a press statement issued here on Thursday, Mr. Parabhu said there were reports that SARS-CoV-2 were detected in water in Paris. “Several scientific studies carried out in different laboratories around the world have clearly demonstrated that many of the viruses, including coronavirus, survive in water — whether it is tap water, waste water or sewage water — for varying periods of time,” he said.
Mr. Prabhu said that studies focusing on the SARS epidemic in 2003 had found that coronaviruses could survive up to a certain extent in the absence of adequate disinfection and hence the chances of spread increased.
“No known cases of SARS-CoV-2 have been reported through this mode though a possibility of infection in this way was likely as the virus was closely related to the one that caused SARS,” he said.
According to him, the habit of spitting and throwing trash and waste in the water adds to the risk of spreading the virus in the water of Vembanad Lake.
“It is also not clear whether all the houseboats have installed bio-toilet facilities for the disposal of faecal matter. Even then, the water from the washbasins is directly drained to the lake without any treatment. The risk to the poor and marginalised living in rural and impoverished areas of Kuttanad is higher as they lack basic infrastructure to remove common contaminants from water. It is, therefore, sensible to rethink on the use of houseboats as quarantine centres till more scientific data is available and safety of the local population is ensured,” he said.
Meanwhile, a State Health Department official said there were no study reports yet to prove that the disease would spread through the water. “COVID-19 can be transmitted through respiratory droplets. In the case of houseboats, we will only use it as a last resort,” the official said.
The administration is expecting an inflow of people from overseas and other States after the end of the COVID-19 lockdown period. They are planning to set up as many as 2,000 isolation beds in houseboats as part of a contingency plan.
