Paris: "Minuscule traces" of the new coronavirus have been found in Paris's non-potable water -- such as the supply used for cleaning streets -- but drinking water is at no risk of contamination, a city official said Sunday.
The Paris water authority's laboratory detected tiny amounts of the virus in four of 27 samples collected from around the capital, leading to an immediate shutdown of the network as a precaution, Celia Blauel told AFP.
Drinking water is supplied from a "totally independent" network and "can be consumed without any risk," stressed Blauel, the city's top environmental official.
Non-potable water, drawn from the Seine River and the Ourcq canal, is used to clean streets and to water the greenery in the city's parks and gardens -- currently closed to the public -- as well as supplying their ornamental fountains.
The city of Paris is consulting the regional health agency for a risk analysis before deciding how to proceed, Blauel said.
France - which has recorded close to 20,000 deaths as a result of the pandemic and has the fourth-highest toll in the world - has been in virtual lockdown for nearly five weeks and is due to start lifting some confinement measures from May 11.
The novel coronavirus, which emerged in China in December last year, has killed over 160,000 and infected more than 2.3 million people worldwide.
COVID-19, which stands for Coronavirus Disease 2019, is the name of the disease caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the Coronavirus family with crown-shaped spikes on its surfaces. The name of the disease was given by the World Health Organisation.
