A study conducted in Assam suggested high chances of contracting the novel coronavirus through the use of common toilets by both asymptomatic and symptomatic patients.

Around 40,000 people under home quarantine were monitored for the study led by Dr Gayatri Gogoi, faculty from Assam Medical College, and Dr Dhananjay Ghanwat, Superintendent of Police, Dhemaji, with the help of Dibrugarh-based Pratishruti Cancer and Palliative Trust.

Primary objective of the study was to determine whether the use of common toilets can be one of the causes for contracting the infection, especially people who are in close contact with patients.

Carried over for two months, from May to July, the study identified 123 positive cases of coronavirus. The people chosen for the study were confirmed positive via the RT-PCR method. Of them, 82 per cent were asymptomatic.

The study found that only 4 percent of an entire household of a person in quarantine got infected due to awareness on proper toilet use and over 80 per cent had independent toilets at home, reported NDTV.

Another significant finding of the study was that spread of infection at special quarantine centres for paramilitary forces was much higher with 18 per cent, as compared to people under home quarantine with 4 per cent.

‘The sharing of common toilets by family members were found to be the main cause. Living within the facility (quarantine centre of CRPF, all tenants of a single campus) found to be the common risk behaviour and strongly suspected to have caused transmission to close contacts,’ the study was quoted by the media.

Earlier, two foreign studies had come up with similar reports.

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