COVID-19 has certainly changed the way people live and interact with their environment. Face masks have become the norm, along with carrying around your own personal hand sanitizer or disposable gloves. This heightened awareness around hygiene has also impacted drinking water fountains and bottle filling stations.
Drinking water fountains serve an important function, providing free access to safe municipal water — offering an alternative to bottled water or sugary drinks — and accommodate a wide array of users, including children, college students, commuters, runners, tourists and pets to name a few. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is possible for people to get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it, then touching their own mouth, nose or eyes, though this is not the main way the virus spreads. However, many people are not willing to take the risk.