Water Loss During the Handwashing During Covid-19 Pandemic in Bangladesh

Hand washing is an important measure of public health to prevent COVID-19 pandemic from speared. But the increase in hand washing causes tremendous pressure on overstretched water resources, as the loss of water during handwashing increases. As there is no previous study to evaluate water loss during hand washing, the study aimed to determine the water loss during the COVID-19 pandemic during hand washing. Sociodemographic data were collected using a web based survey tool and an experiment was conducted to estimate the amount of water wasted during hand washing. 77.9% of participants washed their hands regularly after returning home from outside. 4 of the 7 participants generally did not turn off their tap when washing their hands.A single participant, who kept their tap on throughout the hand washing process, wasted approximately 14.88 L of water per day. The loss of water during hand washing is an alarming but less attentional issue. Hand washing is necessary during the COVID-19 situation, but behavioral adjustments are required to shut down the faucet at times when water is not being used.