British researchers recently claimed that chlorine in swimming pool water can kill the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in about thirty seconds. The results of this work enabled scientists to ensure that no contamination was possible in chlorine-treated swimming pools.
In May 2020, we wondered whether or not contamination was possible by bathing in seawater. According to Ifremer in France, the coronavirus is not present neither in seawater nor in shellfish . At the same time, work by the Spanish Superior Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) affirmed that the risks were zero with regard to swimming pool water. According to the results, swimming pool water is able to reduce the virality of Covid-19 due to the presence of chlorine. A recent study by Imperial College London (United Kingdom) produced similar results. They even claim that swimming pool water is able to inactivate the virus in just thirty seconds.
“By mixing the virus with pool water delivered to us by the Water Babies team [une société, NDLR], we were able to show that the virus does not survive in swimming pool water. He was no longer contagious. This, added to the huge dilution factor of the virus that could make its way into a swimming pool from an infected person, suggests that the risk of contracting Covid-19 from swimming pool water is negligible. » , said Wendy Barclay, lead author of the study in an April 16, 2021 statement.
As part of their work, the researchers mentioned a concentration of free chlorine of 1.5 mg per litre and a pH between 7 and 7.2 . This configuration would reduce the ability of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus to infect by more than a thousand times in just thirty seconds. Nevertheless, these results should be viewed with caution. Indeed, the study has not yet been published in a scientific journal. So there was no peer review.
Furthermore, other tests have shown that the chlorine in the pool waster is even more effective at a lower pH . For the researchers, this is excellent news for all people carrying out a professional (or sporting) activity related to swimming pool water. Does this research really bode well for the reopening of swimming pools this summer? There is nothing to confirm this.
