Can COVID spread underwater?

[scubadada]

Back to the original topic. We will find out that COVID-19 spreads under the water of the common mask rinse tank.

I haven't used a mask rinse bucket for many years, how about you?

 

[MMM]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

This is a forum for discussing basic scuba questions...not politics and not conspiracy theories. Stick to the topic or take it to the Pub. Marg, SB Senior Moderator

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[tursiops]

FAKE NEWS. Get your facts straight. Ginnie Springs has been closed since April 1st. 21 days ago. Those of us that are still cave diving are diving on private property (with permission), by boat on river caves or NSS-CDS member only caves. And most of us myself included cave dive solo.

I don't read any posts that start FAKE NEWS. No reason to believe what follows that statement.
Of course, in this case, what follows IS true. So, what to do? What to do?

 

[tursiops]

I haven't used a mask rinse bucket for many years, how about you?

Nor I. I and my wife used to routinely get sinus infections during a dive trip. We stopped using the communal mask buckets, and the sinus problems stopped. Pure anecdote. For data, see here: Alert Diver | Microbial Hazards

 

[PBcatfish]

I read that the virus doesn't survive well in high humidity. Water is pretty darn humid.
I did not find a study that directly checked survival time in water.

 

[Damselfish]

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “There is no evidence that COVID-19 can be spread to humans through the use of pools and hot tubs. Proper operation, maintenance, and disinfection (e.g., with chlorine and bromine) of pools and hot tubs should remove or inactivate the virus that causes COVID-19.”

If you’re wondering about saltwater pools, this goes for those as well. Your saltwater pool will convert the salt into chlorine.

So if you're probably safe diving salt water. Don't know about fresh Water but my personal opinion is that the virus will be soon diluted to the point that it is unlikely you could get a high enough dosage to get infected.

In a saltwater pool the salt is converted to chlorine because there's equipment doing that. Not so of the ocean. A saltwater pool being ok wouldn't imply anything about the ocean, one way or another.

 

[TMHeimer]

I haven't used a mask rinse bucket for many years, how about you?

No. I've never seen one and don't know what purpose one would serve, pandemic or not.

 

[Marie13]

No. I've never seen one and don't know what purpose one would serve, pandemic or not.

I've never seen one on the multiple Great Lakes boats I've been on. Maybe it's a salt water thing.