Coronavirus: pathogens linger in toilet for hours if you flush without closing lid – and some may still sneak through even if it is down, Hong Kong study finds

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A toilet flush can release up to 80,000 polluted droplets and leave them suspended a metre in the air for hours if the lid is left up, a new study has found.

The findings, released by City University’s Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering on Thursday, also revealed smaller bacteria are even more likely to become airborne and transmitted into the surrounding area via droplets produced in flushing. Smaller agents still, such as the deadly coronavirus now confronting Hong Kong, may also spread through the water particles.