Shanghai officials warn not to pour disinfectant down drain

Officials from the Shanghai Patriotic Health Campaign Committee reminded residents not to pour large amounts of disinfectant or disinfection pills into their drainage channel which is pointless for sanitation but may cause damage to the drain or even pollute the environment.

Wang Tong, deputy director of the committee, said during the press briefing on Saturday that if the airflow in the drains between neighbors is not a direct connection, the possibility of virus transmission is extremely low.

Wang said that disinfection, which is an important part of the recent COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control measures, needs to focus on the key segments of possible infection spread including the apartment rooms of the infected as well as public areas of the apartment, factories or companies which had infection cases and will resume operation, items carried by recovered people released from hospitals or quarantine sites and package delivery distribution areas.

For residents at home, expert said the priority is cleaning over disinfection. Sunshine and heating is recommended as good ways of physical disinfection. Disinfection products could be used to clean the delivery packages and shopping items.