Impediments of coronavirus in healthcare wastewater treatment and ways to ameliorate them

With the advent of the novel coronavirus, human and environmental impacts have become a vital topic of study. The sudden outburst of the virus not only brought normal life to a halt but also made us more aware of health impacts and hygiene guidelines that should be strictly maintained. There is a direct human-to-human transmission of the virus, which happens with a lack of adequate infection controls and improper hygiene precautions. In severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the concept of sewage epidemiology or water-based epidemiology holds significance to detect the virus’s presence in untreated sewage through fecal matter. In this context, this chapter is focused on a detailed discussion of municipal and health care wastewater characterization, methods of disinfection of viruses in wastewater treatment plants, and survival of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater, urine, and biosolids. Usage of personal protective equipment (PPE), appropriate disinfection agents, training for the sanitary and health care workers as guided by the World Health Organization (WHO), and scientific safe disposal of biosolids could alleviate the indirect transmission of SARS-CoV-2. However, there is also a dire need for reorientation of conventional wastewater treatment operations since there is a possibility of viral load in municipal wastewater from the household origin that has to be monitored by pollution control boards.