The COVID-19 Novel Corona Virus Pandemic, reportedly started in the Wuhan Province of China and it is considered as Ground Zero for the Virus. From here, it has spread to almost all corners of the world and has been wreaking havoc and infecting hundreds of thousands of people and claiming lives in the millions! There are a number of unknown quantities about this Virus and this has lead to a lot of speculation and at times, even rumour mongering! However, a recent study by a team from China, has brought out some startling realities about this Virus! 

This study by Chinese researchers has revealed that flushing of public restroom toilets and urinals can cause a spray of clouds of particles carrying viruses, including the COVID-19! This study, which was published in the "Physics of Fluids" journal, has revealed that particles arising from the flushing of a public toilet or urinal can rise up to two feet in the air, in less than six seconds. This could potentially infect the user, without him/her even knowing it. This study has lead the researchers to believe that public restrooms can be dangerous places for petentially becoming infection hotspots, especially during this COVID pandemic. 

Some earlier researches have shown that there is a possibility of the Corona Virus being transmitted through both urine and faeces. Talking about the study, researcher Xiangdong Liu from the Yangzhou University of China, says, "In the study, we used a method of computational fluid dynamics to model the particle movement that occurs during flushing!" Liu also added, "The specific models are the volume-of-fluids model and discrete-phase model!" The flushing of urinals and toilets causes a large number of aerosol particles to be released and this could transmit the virus. Another disturbing fact is that, when men use urinals in a public restroom, the tranjectory of the tiny particles can reach their thighs within 5.5 seconds as compared to the toilet flush, which takes 35 seconds to reach slightly higher. Thus, the conclusion of the article is that, it is mandatory to wear a mask, even while inside public restrooms!