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?:abstract
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Personal hygiene and access to potable/drinking water, which is safe for human consumption, are critical to containing the COVID19 pandemic The principle of citizen science, with limited use of laboratory resources, was applied to monitoring of microbial quality of the municipal water supply in Makana Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa Samples were taken just before and during 30 days of the strictest phase of the COVID19 nation-wide lockdown in South Africa The H2S test kit was used as the basis for the microbial testing, while a cell phone app was used for the temperature monitoring at the author’s house During the study, the ambient temperature ranged from 17 to 29 °C, with decreases below 18 °C occurring on three out of 12 sampling occasions Thus the results of the H2S test kit might have been slightly influenced by the fluctuations of the ambient temperature On 8 sampling occasions between 1 and 4 H2S test kits were positive for faecal contamination Three samples or 25 % were free of faecal contamination One sample had all five H2S test kits were positive for faecal contamination Results of statistical testing indicated that potable/drinking water from the municipal supply in Makana Local Municipality was probably faecally contaminated at the author’s household on an intermittent basis Ongoing monitoring of microbial drinking water quality is necessary and continuing at the sampled location © University of SS Cyril and Methodius in Trnava
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