Officials have told the public that buying bottled water is not needed during the coronavirus pandemic as drinking from the tap in Massachusetts is completely safe.

“The COVID-19 virus has not been detected in drinking water,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website says. “Conventional water treatment methods that use filtration and disinfection, such as those in most municipal drinking water systems, should remove or inactivate the virus.”

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh also reassured residents on Saturday that the viral respiratory illness is not in the city’s water supply. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authorities will continue to reliably provide water that meets all health standards, he said.

Remember: it’s safe to drink from the tap🚰and there is no #COVID19 in Boston’s water. @MWRA_update will continue to reliably provide water that meets all health standards. https://t.co/2J7GGq7a1f — Mayor Marty Walsh (@marty_walsh) March 21, 2020

“If you are worried about being quarantined, stock up on medicine and food, but you do not need to buy bottled water,” the MWRA said in a statement.

The emergency agency provides water and sewer services to 3.1 million people and more than 5,500 large industrial users in 61 metropolitan Boston communities, according to its website.

Water from towns and cities serviced by the MWRA - except for Chicopee, South Hadley’s first fire district and Wilbraham - is treated at the John J. Carroll Water Treatment Plant in Marlborough.

“Federal and state regulations require that we have emergency plans to maintain operations during a variety of different types of emergencies and we are prepared to do so,” the MWRA said in its statement.

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