Can you catch coronavirus in swimming pools or sea water? Spain in rush to find out ahead of welcoming tourists back
RESEARCHERS in Spain are conducting a new study to determine whether coronavirus can be caught through beaches, swimming pools or the sea, in a bid to welcome British tourists as soon as possible.
The new study hopes to look into the transmission of the deadly virus through sand and large bodies of water in the hopes of enabling hotels and holiday resorts to open as quickly but as safely as possible.
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Costa beaches are not due to fully reopen until June 8 at the earliest and no date has been given for the possible return of the British tourists.
The Institute for Spanish Tourism Quality (ICTE) are working with Spanish government tourism chiefs to determine if and how the virus spreads in resort areas, as well as how to safely disinfect the areas.
The institute said in a statement: “The study will enable us to better understand the behaviour of the virus in water in indoor and outdoor pools and whether it can be transmitted through sand and what happens in sea water.
“Once this information is available, protocols will have to be designed which will include looking at how the areas that have been occupied can be disinfected if the study concludes that is necessary."
They added: “If it is necessary the disinfection will have to be done in a way that doesn’t affect the area eco-systems."
ICTE president Miguel Mirones also said that the study could lead to new measures being adopted when the beaches and swimming areas are re-opened.
Research has indicated that other coronavirus strains such as SARS can survive 12 days in room temperature tap water.
But most experts agree that in large bodies of water like the sea and rivers, it would be difficult to contract it because the virus concentration would be so diluted.
Disease control experts have insisted the risk of Covid-19 transmission through water is “expected to be low” and there is no evidence it can occur.
Currently, the CDC state that there is "no evidence" to suggest Covid-19 can be spread through pools, hot tubs or water areas as long as they are properly managed and cleaned.
It is also unlikely to spread through sand, although the repercussions of beach visits could lead to transmission through a lack of social distancing.
The Spanish government wants to have a better understanding of the situation to help the tourism industry back on track for the summer season in July.
Local tourists will be the first to enjoy the beaches and foreign tourism will depend on the number of flights available, but it is hoped Brits can start flocking back to Spain around October.
The re-opening of swimming pools, currently shut in hotels and Airbnb resorts, would also help tourism.
Sea swimming is currently off-limits in Spain, except in some areas where local councils have permitted swimming where it is being practiced as a sport.
The study will also look at issues around social distancing on beaches.
Juanma Moreno, president of Spain’s Andalucia region which includes the Costa del Sol, has said it is likely police will have to limit access to the area’s beaches when they finally fully re-open.
Office-style plexiglass cubicles, first proposed by an Italian firm, have also been touted as a possible solution for holidaymakers dreaming of an early return to Mediterranean beaches.
Similar plastic boxes have already been trialled at restaurants in Madrid.
Spain’s Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto previously said she hoped tourists “returned soon and with maximum safety guarantees, if the health and travel situation made it possible.”
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Thousands of hotels and other tourist accommodation in Spain fear they won't be reopening again this year, despite permission to do so from May 11 as part of the country's de-escalation plan.
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They say that without international holidaymakers, including the huge British market on which all the popular resorts depend, there is "no point" in spending money they haven't got.
The Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodations (CEHAT) president, Jorge Marichal said: "Tourist accommodation establishments such as hotels, apartments, resorts, hostels, camping sites, spas, which the Confederation represents, don't know how to proceed with this opening and it will not be viable either in the vast majority of hotel facilities."
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