Water, sanitation, hygiene, and waste management for the COVID-19 virus: interim guidance, 23 April 2020

This interim guidance supplements the infection prevention and control (IPC) documents by summarizing WHO guidance on water, sanitation and health-care waste relevant to viruses, including coronaviruses. It is intended for water and sanitation practitioners and providers, and health-care providers who want to know more about water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) risks and practices.

The provision of safe water, sanitation and hygienic conditions is essential for protecting human health during all infectious disease outbreaks, including of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Ensuring evidenced-based and consistently applied WASH and waste management practices in communities, homes, schools, marketplaces, and healthcare facilities will help prevent human-to-human transmission of, the virus that causes COVID-19.

This guidance was originally published in March 2020. This first update provides details on hand hygiene, sanitation, protecting WASH workers and supporting the continuation and strengthening of WASH services, especially in underserved areas. This additional information has been prepared in response to the many questions that WHO received about the prevention and control of COVID-19 in settings where WASH services are limited and where there is emerging evidence on the presence of viral fragments in excreta and untreated sewage.