A comprehensive study of COVID-19 in wastewater: occurrence, surveillance, and viewpoints on its remedy

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an adverse effect on human health, economy, and diverse environments. Besides the general transmission of the virus through air droplets and human-to-human contact; it is also transmitted while infecting the digestive system, which subsequently is defecated through the feces. Such fecal transmission can cause a major environmental distress, causing community transmission. This chapter attempts to investigate thoroughly the types of aquatic water bodies and addresses their role in the viral dissemination to combat SARS-CoV-2. It further enlightens the need for wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) studies for surveillance as well as for early warning signal. The study could provide a comprehensive approach for designing effective strategies in the context of COVID-19 to counter the viral transmission and its deactivation. It also serves as a working paper for scholars and strategy regulators for planning and development of a new set-up from the global to the local level.