Toilets now play into the coronavirus equation.
Thanks to a new study reported in the NY Daily News we should all make sure to close the toilet lid before flushing or you could risk exposing yourself to coronavirus. The journal Physics of Fluids created one of the most disturbing sentences I've ever read. Yangzhou University in China found that fecal samples from some confirmed patients tested positive by nucleic acid detection, which provides evidence that SARS-CoV-2 has the possibility of fecal–oral transmission.
To recap,everything that lands in the bowl sends particles all over the room. Gross. Then when you flush those particles could end up in your mouth!!!
If you go and read the study you'll see that they found 40%–60% of the total number of particles can rise above the toilet seat to cause large-area spread, with the height of these particles reaching 42 inches from the ground. That's about face level when you bend over to flush. Then the particles continue to rise for up to 70 seconds more! That means someone who walks in a minute after the last person flushed is getting a mouthful!
Health officials recommend cleaning the toilet seat before using it and always wash your hands after. And close that lid!